Excuse Me While I Kiss This Ed
by Mr. Apocalypse
Summary: During a party, a bet is placed. Edd finds himself in a terribly embarrassing situation that's going to take some time to get use to. What an interesting month it will make for him. EddxKevin. Reviews greatly appreciated.
1. Chp 1: Bet Your Bottom Ed

Of course, let's begin with I don't own Ed, Edd 'n Eddy nor any of the characters, Cartoon Network does I guess. Blah blah blah, onward to what I want to say.

For those of you whom have read my Rocky Road story, I apologize profusely for not updating in too long. Lack of motivation, time, and energy are my excuses for that not being worked on, though I am starting up again on it as you read this. _Right! _Well, this is someone completely different from that, it's not even in the same gender category. This story will be about the relationship that grows between Kevin and Edd (Double D) after a bet is placed. That's right, two guys, why not? I figured that writing something I don't normally write about would help me start back up.

Also, flamers that don't like this pairing... First of all, I don't know why you would be reading this, but hey, there's a chance. Second! I couldn't really figure out which pair I wanted to go with when I started this fic up, but as it went along, I figured that Kevin and Edd would be a bit more entertaining to do. That doesn't mean Eddy has been left out!

* * *

**Chapter 1: Bet Your Bottom Ed**

It was a beautiful October night in the small town of Peach Creek. The cool breeze of autumn washing away the memories of the heat of summer. The perfectly clear sky twinkled with hundreds of stars and a bright, full moon.

The wonderful night happened to fall on a Saturday, Halloween at that. The young Eds, now seventeen, found themselves walking together across the center of their neighborhood's small cul-de-sac in which they lived towards a very familiar house. Various colors of light flashed on and off within the home, a pulsing bass within.

"I can't believe the others would actually invite us to this costume party." Edd, or known as Double D to everyone who knew him, mumbled placing a hand on his chin.

"Yeah, well, I can't believe you're actually wearing _that _costume." Came the snide voice of one of his fellow 'Eds', Eddy. The short young man grinned a bit looking to his childhood friend, his sly looking light brown eyes scanning him over. "The kids are gonna start wondering about you."

The tallest of the three, Ed, dressed in a black cat outfit, laughed happily, wrapping his arms around the slim boy's neck. "I think Double D looks pretty!"

Blushing, the boy, dressed as a witch, attempted to extract himself from the rather strong Ed. "I'll have you know Eddy, my mother made this herself for me... Though... I do think she confused wizard with witch..." Looking down to himself, Edd blushed a bit more. The slim cotton cloth of his long purple dress outlined his slim body in the breeze. What he was wearing was essentially a long sleeved dress, a very flattering one at that. The sleeves flared slightly and the collar flared up around his chin. In place of his regular sock-like stocking cap, a witch hat of the same purple color hid his hair from the view of others, a few black strands hanging down at various lengths.

"Yeah, well, I still find it hilarious." Eddy smirked thrusting his hands into his pocket. Having grown up a bit, his slightly overweight form changed to being just a bit overweight, the baby fat now long gone. "And you, mister I-wanted-to-be-cute-and-cuddly!" Thrusting an accusing finger towards the redhead, Ed, Eddy frowned. "I swear, with you two, we're barely likely to get ANY chicks!"

"Sorry Eddy..." Ed mumbled as the neared the house. Edd could only sigh and shake his head.

When they stepped up to the door, Eddy paused a moment, snapping in the air. Behind him, Ed held up a small mirror which the narcissistic young man checked his hair in as well as his fake fangs. He dressed as swank as he could while still following the costume theme of the party. The result left him in a simple black suit with a billowing blouse under it and a long black and red cape, the classic vampire.

"Really Eddy, it's just the kids." Edd huffed, kicking at a small leaf near his foot with one of the black leather ankle boots on his slim legs.

"Yeah but..." Eddy mumbled fixing a few strands of his dark brown hair. "Nazz is gonna be there." His reasoning only made the second tallest of the three sigh in annoyance. "Ready then?" With a nod from the other two young men, he spun around and pressed the doorbell.

The door swung open to reveal the kids of the cul-de-sac all standing around having what seemed to be quite a good time. Before them, a tall young man stood before them dressed as some kind of zombie biker. The very noticeable bright red hair stuck out from under the skull-cap helmet noting him as the neighborhood jock, Kevin.

"Oh, it's you Dorky." The football player smirked. He looked to Ed who was looking inside curiously, then to the figure in the purple that he couldn't quite put his finger on. For a few moments, he looked at Double D curiously. "Double Dweeb?" He asked hesitantly.

The light blue eyes that the little witch owned flicked from the events inside to Kevin. "Salutations Kevin. Thank you for inviting us." The polite young man greeted.

Shaking his head a bit Kevin laughed lightly. "D-Didn't recognize you for a second, dork..." He moved aside as Eddy grumbled a bit at being left outside for far too long.

The two slowly entered the reasonably sized house that Kevin's family owned. All the kids that they've grown up with were there. Ed's sister Sarah, her friend Jimmy, Johnny and Plank, Rolf and all the others. They stood about chatting as music played and lights flashed. Eddy was in his element.

Eddy grinned widely to himself as he began to attempt to schmooze his way into the crowd leaving Edd and his cat clothed friend Ed to move about uncomfortably. Not wanting to simply stand in the doorway all night, the two made their way towards the rather large sprawl of snacks set about the room on several tables.

The Ed dressed as a witch sighed a bit as he watched his chinless friend go off to aid his sister in a few party games. Edd wasn't sure why he always hoped to be invited to these parties along with his two best friends. He assumed it was just because of that, he wanted to be with them and make sure they didn't get into trouble. While he did enjoy the atmosphere, he always felt a little left out, not completely sure of what to do at such events. Instead, he chose to silently watch as he sipped some of the punch he got for himself.

"Hey dork." The deep voice came from beside Edd. He hadn't noticed Kevin walk up to him, he was busy watching Eddy who did his best to mingle with his peers, most of them just laughing along with him.

"K-Kevin!" The slim young man jumped up from his position leaning against the table. He blushed a bit as the table rustled a bit, he free hand straightening out his dress. "W-What is it?"

"C'mere, we're gonna start up a game and we need you in it." The redhead grinned, moving towards the group was motioning for him to follow. Curious, the young man refilled his drink then quickly shuffled to follow after him.

Edd took a spot beside his friend Eddy and sipped his drink a bit. His brilliant mind began to race through the games he knew about that teenagers often played at gatherings like this. As the group settled down into what was more or less a circle, a terrible conclusion played out in his mind.

"Okay guys!" Cheered a young blond girl standing before them. She was dressed as a stereotypical 'sexy-nurse', and she played it well. Nazz had on a tight fitting white dress with all the various accessories one would expect to see with a nurse including a stethoscope around her neck. "We're gonna play Truth or Dare!" A variety of responses came from the group including cheers, groans, and indifferent mumbling.

Saddling up beside the girl, Kevin grinned a bit placing a large glass jar on the coffee table before him. "To make it interesting, there's a twist. If you don't do it, you have to put a dollar in. If you do, we all have to put a dollar in. Truths don't deal with this. At the end, we'll have a very good reason for the jar." Perhaps he was being paranoid, but Edd could almost swear that Kevin looked at him when he said that. "Also, feel free to make bets on if someone will or wont do something." Behind him, Nazz had brought out a large marker board with everyone's name on it, 'will' and 'wont' written beside them.

"Let the games begin!" Nazz cheered.

After several humiliating rounds later, everyone knew far more about each other than they ever wanted, as well as did things they probably wished they didn't. Ed had drank nearly two gallons of gravy, Eddy found himself stripped down to his boxers, and Edd had revealed that under the dress were a simple pair of black boxer-briefs. The others all had their own expressions of guilt, shame, or embarrassment on their faces as well as a feeling of emptiness deep in their wallets. The jar before them overflowed with lost bets and 'coward money'.

Adjusting his witch hat a bit, Edd glanced to Eddy who could be seen figuring out on his head how much money could be in that jar. For a brief moment, the bookworm had to admire the large amount of math going on in the shorter of the two's head.

"Okay okay... I know you're all practically broke now, but we have one more dare to be given out by yours truly, and then we'll reveal the point of the jar." Kevin announced as he spun the lid about on his index finger. "Double D..." The young man snickered looking to the purple clad boy who let out a soft 'eep'. "There is no choice in this... I dare you to show everyone what's under your hat!" A large grin was plastered on the jock's face.

The entire group turned to look at the feminine boy who blushed terribly, turning to look at Ed and Eddy who both simply grinned at him. Bets began to fill the air loudly as the children began to wager the rest of their money. Not a one thought he would.

Edd puffed his cheeks in frustration. He would teach them all a lesson for thinking so little of him! Standing up quickly, the blue eyed boy looked around, eyes trained on him.

"I..." He began, sighing a bit gripping the rim of his pointed hat. "I'll... I'll show you." He mumbled. Audible gasped came from his every side, the sounds of chairs being scooted closer making him close his eyes.

In one swift movement, his hand pulled the hat from his head, another reaching a under the hat to pull something out.

Raven black hair spilled forth from under the royal purple witch's hat, falling past his shoulders to dangle just a little above the middle of his back. It was noticeably thick and strongly unkempt.

As he stood with his hat in one hand and a hair-tie in the other, he could feel his face heating up more and more as a stunned silence filled the air. Slowly, he let one of his eyes open, looking around at the group before him.

"Aw man! There goes all my cash! Thanks a bunch Double D!" Eddy cried in a huff throwing up his hands.

"Double Dweeb! You looked like a girl before, but wow!" Kevin laughed slapping his knee. He was grinning ear to ear in success. It didn't sound mean to Edd, but it made him blush worse, fidgeting with his hat.

"It's so cute!" Sarah squealed hugging Jimmy who nodded in agreement.

"Oh Sarah we must style it for him!" The blond boy giggled in his terribly girly voice.

The black haired boy began to place his hat on his head once more, his long hair still hanging down freely. What was the point of trying to hide it anymore if everyone knew about it? Thus, with that done, Edd began to sit back down, his hands going to smooth out his dress under him out of reflex.

"Wait wait Double D... We have one more thing just for you." The redheaded jock stated putting the cap on the glass jar once the rest of the money was stuffed into the container. Edd gulped lightly as he stopped in mid-sit to stand back up once more. "Everyone, what do you think about Double D in a dress?" Kevin asked leaned back in his chair slightly.

Edd could only look mortified as he looked towards Kevin who simply smiled as he looked about as the positive reactions to the black haired boy's cross dressing.

"Well then. Since we all think that Double D could pass for a girl, here's the deal, dork." Standing up, the taller and stronger boy held up the jar grinning. "If you can dress like a girl for a whole month, you'll get all this money..." Kevin turned to Eddy. "Which is how much Dorky?"

"Almost five-hundred dollars..." Eddy mumbled, nearly drooling.

Nodding, the redhead looked to Edd once more. "Whatcha say?"

"What do I say!?" The long haired by roared as much as he could with his light voice. "You expect me to degrade and humiliate myself for what? Money!?" Edd felt his cheeks heating up in anger, his fists clenched tightly. How dare they insinuate that he should do such a thing? Everyone watched the boy in the dress leave the circle, his half-full cup of punch falling to the floor as he made for the door.

"D-Double D wait a sec!" Eddy called rushing after him. "C'mon Ed!" The boy in the cat suit gave a crumb filled laugh as he ran after them, an armful of cookies and chips.

Grumbling to himself while walking across the street in the center of the cul-de-sac, Edd held the bottom of his dress up to keep from tripping over it as he stomped away furiously. "How dare they? Those... Those... Vitiated imbeciles!" He glared to his right as Eddy caught up to him a placed a hand on his shoulder. "Here to try and talk me into it?" He grumbled.

"...Kinda..." Eddy grinned shyly but squeezed his friend's shoulder as he followed beside him. "But really Double D, you should see it as a compliment." Seeing his friend's rage subside a bit, the dark brown haired smiled a bit. "C'mon... It's only for a month... Really, it's not half as embarrassing as some of the stuff we've been through Sockhead."

Mulling over that statement, the boy in the dress stopped on the sidewalk crossing his arms over his slim chest. "It's true but..."

"We wont ask anything too terrible of you Double D, just to go through with the dare." The short boy watched closely as the thoughts ran over the pretty features of the teenager's face. Eddy had to admit, he did look like a girl in the right light. A sly grin ran over his lips as he concocted an idea. "Listen..." He let his closer hand slowly reach out to hook a few of Edd's fingers making the long haired boy blush and look down quickly. "It'll give you enough money for that new telescope I know you've been eying." Eddy said as sweetly as he could, knowing that talking about science with this androgynous young man was enough to get him fired up to do anything. "Or maybe a bigger ant farm... Or a new microscope?"

Edd puffed his cheeks a bit and looked up from the hand a bit, feeling it being swung back and forth just slightly by the shorter boy.

"I'll do anything you want Sockhead, just name it after this whole thing is done." Eddy promised as he glanced over to the tallest of the three, laying on the grass in one of the yards. "Right Ed?" Only a light gurgle.

"Eddy..." Edd mumbled in a weakening voice. The black haired boy blushed feeling the hand slip from his. "I... I guess I can handle it..." His slim body was gripped tightly by the shorter boy who grinned up at him.

"I knew you could do it buddy! Ed! C'mon you lump!" The brown eyed boy called.

"I don't feel so good Eddy..." Mumbled the redhead in the grass, the armful of snacks long gone.

It seemed the party was still going smoothly when the Eds reentered the small home. No one seemed to pay them much mind as most of them were deep in conversations or dancing to the thumping music. The boy in the purple dress looked around sheepishly with a small blush on his cheeks, doing his best to spot Kevin. Behind him, he listened as Ed mumbling something terribly gurgled as he began half stumbling, half charging towards the bathroom.

"Poor Ed." The black haired boy mumbled as he turned around to look at Eddy who was watching their tall friend sway back and forth as he moved further and further away. Putting his hands to his cheeks, Edd looked to the redhead throwing up within the small bathroom. "M-Maybe I should go see if I can help."

"Oh no you don't! You already said you were gonna go through with the bet! Go find Kevin, I'll deal with Ed." Eddy forcefully stated poking the slim boy's shoulder. He grinned as the long haired boy sighed in defeat and began looking around the children once more.

Walking towards the blond bombshell of the cul-de-sac, Nazz, Edd tapped the girl on the shoulder. "N-Nazz?" He stuttered with a growing blush. The girl turned to look at the boy with her light blue eyes, smiling sweetly.

"Oh hey Double D, glad to see you're back." She greeted turning a bit to face him. "Everything okay?"

Nodding, Edd smiled nervously rubbing the back of his neck. "J-Just fine... Um... I um-"

"Kevin's in the kitchen." The blond simple explained with her ever sweet smile. Edd mumbled his thanks as he turned to the entranceway across the room. Watching him walk away, the slightly older girl grinned a bit turning around to the group placing a finger on her chin in thought, biting her lip lightly.

The sounds of rustling chip bags made the boy dressed as a witch poke his head around the corner. He spotted the tall jock tossing 'Party Sized' bags of snacks from plastic shopping bags onto the counter. Just as he thought he was finished allowing all the blood in his body into his cheeks, he began to blush again as he approached the stronger young man, clearing his throat lightly.

Jumping in surprise, Kevin spun around quickly, ready to say something witty to whomever it was that decided to sneak up on him. The words came to a screeching halt as he looked at the androgynous young man before him, Edd playing with the rim of his hat a bit as he looked to the tiled floor under their feet. Kevin would never say it aloud, but dressed up like that, and with his hair let down, Double D really did look kinda cute... Completely in a platonic way of course though. Puberty seemed to have a strange effect on the effeminate teenager. Instead of making him more chiseled and manly looking, it seemingly made him even more waif-like then he was before.

Noting the silence between the two and Edd's obvious reluctance to begin, the jock grinned a bit crossing his arms. "What is it Double Dweeb?" Kevin asked in a knowing tone, making Edd bite his bottom lip in embarrassment, his soft blue eyes looking around a bit.

"I... I would like... T-To... Accept your dare." The sheepish boy mumbled, trying to pull the witch hat down over his head in order to hide from the stare of the older teenager. His mind mulled over a few things before her looked up at the slightly taller boy who simply grinned, his arms still over his chest. "What must I do?"

"Just wear chick's clothing for a full month." Kevin state as if it was nothing. "If anyone at school hassles you about it, I'll deal with them personally." He grinned at the shocked look from the bookworm.

Sighing a bit, the black haired boy toyed with the flared end of his right sleeve. "At school too?" A light hum from the boy before him making him sigh lightly. "I see..." Looking up, he offered a small smile. "You're sure I don't look like a fool in a dress like this, correct?" Edd asked doing a slight turn around before Kevin.

_G__eeze dork! You already _act _like a girl!_ Kevin thought with a growing grin. "Nah, you look fine." Putting an arm around the boy's shoulder while leading him out of the kitchen, Kevin walked with Edd back to Nazz. "Now, to get you set up with something to wear, you and Nazz are gonna do some shopping tomorrow. As soon as you put on the first outfit, the bet begins."

"This doesn't count?" Edd grinned a bit tugging on the dress' collar.

Kevin and Nazz snickered a bit, the young man in the zombie outfit looking down to the blond girl who was still in her sexy-nurse costume. "No, but I'm pretty sure we need to have you wear something like this when you're the nurse's aid again." The two older teenagers laughed as Edd blushed deeply, looking appalled.

Watching Edd walk off to tell Eddy and a visibly greener Ed the news, Nazz looked up to the jock who watched the slim boy walk off. "If I didn't know any better Kevin, I'd say you're enjoying this already."

The football captain simply smirked a bit watching Edd get flustered over the swaying lump named Ed, the waif boy trying to get him to sit down.

* * *

Sorry for the (possibly) many mistakes littered throughout. I just wanted to get this posted before I start on the next chapter. I'll be sure to fix it up a bit later. Reviews greatly appreciated. 

Also, I would like to thanks the artist I only know as chidoriashi on Deviantart. A great artist, her pictures of the Eds dressed up for Halloween gave me the idea for how to start out this fic. Go check out the arts!


	2. Chp 2: An Ed In Sheeps Clothing

Praise me! This entire chapter was written in one sit down! Roughly...Three-ish hours? Really, I didn't think I was going to be able to do it. In fact, I'm probably going to pay for my late night writing antics by a serious lack of energy tomorrow... But hey! I feel damn well accomplished belting this thing out! I'd like to thank those who have given me my first three reviews of this story: i'm an exiser, holyfanfictionbatman, and poesumo. You all make my day when I read your encouraging reviews.

* * *

**Chapter 2: An Ed in Sheeps Clothing**

It was early in the morning, early enough that the dew coating the few vehicles left around the small cul-de-sac had yet to evaporate in the warming autumn air in Peachcreek. Many of the adults in said cul-de-sac had left only shortly ago for work. This worked well for one teenager in particular as he wished for his reasons for sneaking around in the morning mist to be unknown to the still sleeping residents of the small suburb.

Edd, or Double D as he was known as by his friends, stepped into a home that was in no way particularly different from any of the others surrounding his. It held a few memories for him that caused a wave of nausea and a slight wish for a bath to pass over him, but as he focused on the figure before him once more the thought left as quickly as it came.

"Dare I ask why we're not leaving just yet?" The slightly taller young man mumbled to the blond as they passed through the simple living room. It held a wine red couch with a dark wood coffee table, a massive window behind the deep red piece of furniture. An overly large TV rested against a wall, a slightly lighter colored piece of wooden furniture holding it up easily.

The young woman before him turned her head just enough to glance over her sweater covered shoulder. "Well, before we go out and start, I need to know what I'm working with dude." Nazz, the eldest of the female children of the cul-de-sac stated simply. Edd couldn't help but smile a bit as she ended her sentence with her trademark 'dude'. Out of all the time he knew her, the brilliant young man couldn't quite figure out the reason for the habit.

"I-I see..." He mumbled as his mind caught up with what she actually said. As they entered what seemed to be the girl's room, Edd found a deep warmth in his cheeks as he realized that, for the first time, he was in a girl's room with just the two of them. "What might that entail, dear Nazz?" He mumbled fidgeting with his ever present black, sock-like hat.

The girl turned around and placed her hands on his shoulders, causing him to stop in the middle of the room. She turned back once more and moved to the large bed nestled against the far wall from the door and plopped down onto the center of the bed cross-legged. Her arms crossed her ample chest covered with the thick sweater as she waited a few moments, seemingly in thought, her keen blue eyes focusing on the young Ed.

Feeling beads of sweat beginning to form on the back of his neck, Edd looked around uneasily, feeling as if a predator was evaluating the best was to capture the weakest prey. His darker blue eyes began to wander about the room in an attempt to escape the thought of the gaze. Nazz's room was nothing like he would have expected it. Jeans and jackets lay about on the floor as well as various undergarments which caused his cheeks to redden and flick towards the wall. It was a quite bright orange color, the light from the rising sun adding to its already neon like coloring. The color nearly matched the color of said rising star. Posters of various sports teams sat taped to the wall while a large cork board rested at the foot of her bed. Pictures of friends and events made the young man smile a bit. Beside them, familiar pieces of yellow paper rested, neat handwriting giving reminders of different things.

"Take off your clothes."

So lost in thought was Edd, that he failed to notice what she said. He registered that the girl actually said something, but what it was didn't quite hit him. "Pardon?" He asked politely.

"Take. Off. Your. Clothes." Nazz stated again in an even voice, not batting an eyelash.

"I-I beg your pardon!?" Edd gasped in shock. He noticed the girl ready to repeat herself a third time but shook his head. "W-Why should I do such a thing?"

Huffing a bit, the girl leaned back a bit against the sunburst orange wall. "Well Double D, I can't get a good look at you with your clothing in way." She finished with a motion of her hand to 'go ahead'. Nearly ten seconds passed before she brushed a bit of the messy blond hair from her face. "Would you like some help?"

"No!" The black haired boy gasped. He bit his lip a bit as he gripped the bottom of his shirt. As he began to pull it off, Nazz gave note that he only needed to go down to his boxers. Edd felt like his arms were made of rubbery lead as he pulled off the bright red t-shirt, nor did they work as he wanted, getting caught in the sleeves as he pulled it over his head. Once his head was free, he stopped a brief moment to note that the young woman was watching intently, her face slightly stern and calculating. He blushed a bit more as he began to fold the garment.

"Just drop it to the floor, dude." She mumbled unblinkingly.

Ready to protest such an audacious act, the boy in the hat looked up only to be silenced with the same purposeful stare. Sighing heavily, the young man let his hands rest on the button to his shorts but hesitated, quickly moving to one of his legs reaching under the leg of the shorts. His fingers gripped one of the thigh-long red socks. Pulling it off easily, as his shoes rested at the door to the house, he proceeded to do the same with methodically slow movements to the other. He heard another sigh escape the blond's lips.

"Double D," She began, sliding off the bed. She approached the slightly taller teenager, her form moving quickly towards the blushing young man. "You're going waaay too slow dude, we've got lots of shopping to get done." As she spoke, her hands worked the button open on Edd's shorts without even looking, his cheeks darkening considerably. "I didn't ask for a strip show, so stop acting it's one." Stepping back, the jean shorts dropped to the floor with the aid of gravity which the young man cursed in the back of his mind.

Nazz began to circle the young man who stood stone still as her eyes took in the slim, waif like body of the young man. He could hear her mumbling to herself in thought. Edd was not what you would call confident when it came to his looks. He knew that the ideal teenage male, based on society, should be big and strong with a bit of muscle. Unfortunately, he was looked more like some kind of unusual combination of slim teenage girl and weak little bookworm. His stomach was flat, slightly toned and pale while his arms with thin and out of shape, but not flabby. He once heard Rolf comment at the creek about that he had 'supple' legs. Due to some of the heavy lifting he had to due during some of Eddy's scams, Edd found his legs gaining some curve of muscle, but their were still slim and feminine, like the rest of him. Not to mention a bit of a compulsion he had...

"...You shave?" Nazz finally spoke. It wasn't so much as question as much as a statement of revelation. It was true. Edd found that he truly disliked being covered in bodily hair. This caused him to shave his legs, arms and anywhere else that there might be hair on his body... In retrospect, Edd suspected it didn't aid his feminine image.

"N-Nazz!" Edd squeaked as he jumped. A hand had brushed along his forearm causing goosebumps to erupt along his skin.

Raising her hands in a 'sorry' kind of gesture, the girl offered a strange, crooked grin. "Sorry, I just wanted to see how smooth it was." Watching the young man relax, she moved back to his front again. "Y'know, this might work out really well actually. I mean you really have a good body for something like this." A silent blush was Edd's only response. "Back here isn't bad either!" She laughed sneakily as she jumped forward, throwing her arms around behind the terrified young man, her hands each grabbing his round backside.

Edd only stood frozen.

"Hey um..." She mumbled a bit leaning back. The blond's eyes flicked downward between them. "Is _that_ shaved too?"

Edd could only silently nod in embarrassment.

"Oh I'm gonna have some fun." Nazz snickered as she moved backwards, plopping onto the edge of her bed. "Now, get dressed so we can head out."

Brooding in his terrible humiliation, the long haired boy began to dress once more, brushing wrinkles out of his clothing.

Snapping in thought, Nazz stood up. "Oh, while you're going through with this dare, I _will not_ let you wear that hat." Watching the boy grip the hat with both hands and whimper lightly, Nazz shook her head sternly. "Nope, not gonna happen. You can wear it for now, but it's gone as soon as the dare begins."

_What have I gotten myself into?_ Edd thought as he follow the young woman out the door, his eyes focused on Nazz's tanned feet that appeared from time to time under the baggy pants covering her legs.

It was but a few minutes later that the two were cruising down the main road of Peachcreek. The town consisted mostly of thick woods and small bundles of homes in secluded neighborhoods. The still sleeping town was quiet as the sun made its way further into the sky. More and more store fronts began to open their doors as the two drove closer to the limits of the small town. The closest mall worth visiting was a town over, thus, the two soon found themselves offered views of wide open farms and overgrown fields with ancient building in them.

The trip had been mostly silent, Edd deep in thought while Nazz enjoyed the CD she had placed in the stereo before the began their trip. The young man was sure he'd heard it playing on her radio once before when she did her usual sun bathing, but he wasn't certain, he rarely listened to music much. He was watching the scenes of simple farm houses pass by before her lost interest in them, instead, his attention switched to his more immediate surroundings. The car in which the teenager drove was very similar to her room. It was disorganized and cluttered with junk. In the back seat, piles of textbooks from school sat, crammed full of papers. Around his feet, wrappers and bags from various fast food restaurants sat, just waiting to be thrown away. He never figured Nazz for the type of girl to live in such a way. In fact, over the few years, the girl had changed considerably. Granted, much of that had to do with puberty and natural growth, but no longer was she the neighborhood crush that all the boys fawned over. While she did occasionally act a bit questionable, such as at the party on Halloween, the girl was now normally seen just hanging with the guys.

"What is it?" The girl asked easily, her eyes flicking towards the young man then back to the road.

Edd blushed a bit not noticing he begun to stare at the calm you woman. He went back to looking out the window as he relaxed a bit more. "I was just thinking."

"'Bout what?"

Thinking how to word his thoughts correctly Edd sighed scratching under his beanie. "I... I guess I was just thinking about how different you seem than a few years ago."

"You could say that for all of us really." The blond smiled fondly as she adjusted herself a bit to be more comfortable. The black haired boy only nodded in agreement as he yawned slightly. "I guess I just kinda grew up." She mumbled tapping her thumbs on the steering wheel with the beat of the music. "I think it had a lot to do with my dad."

Raising an eyebrow and looking towards Nazz, Edd found himself fascinated. Out of all of the children in the cul-de-sac, he knew the least about this girl's parents. "How so?"

Sighing a bit, the girl brushed some of her unruly blond hair from her face. "Well, it's only my dad to take care of me, been like that as long as I can remember. He tried to make me into a 'proper' girl by buying me whatever I wanted. He would buy me clothes that girl should wear, toys that girls play with, all that." Reaching towards the stereo to change the song, she continued after a few clicks of a button. "But then he was laid off from his job and things got a little tight."

"When was this?" Edd interrupted. He had no idea that such things happened.

"About... Hm..." The girl thought for a few moments. "Two years ago?"

Gasping, the feminine young man put a hand to his mouth. "I-I had no idea! I would have helped if you merely as-" He stopped when the girl held up a hand.

"We didn't tell anyone in the neighborhood." She admitted with a small grin. "Me and my dad are a little thick headed... Anyway, we had to do without for a little while. During that, we spent a lot of time together, just trying to keep out spirits up. I guess he kinda rubbed off on me during that time. That's when he kinda gave up on making me 'girly'."

Edd was fascinated, he learned something about the girl that he had never even thought he'd learn. Though, there was one thing that seemed to be sticking into the back of his mind. The proverbial elephant in the room, as he felt.

After a few quiet minutes, the long haired boy turned his head to look at the girl. "I've um... I've noticed that you and Kevin... You don't seemed to be around each other a much as you use to either."

"Yeah, that's another thing. I guess he likes the kind of girl who wants to hang on to him and depend on him." She snickered a bit looking to Edd. "That's not me." She turned her attention back to the road and went silent. Another few moments of uneasy silence passed before her mumbled something. "Besides... There's that other thing..."

About to ask what Nazz meant, he was cut off by the music being turned up a bit, an unusual look on her face. Edd decided to not push the comment, instead, he opted to look back out the window, enjoying the view of the clear day.

Back in Peachcreek, Eddy and Ed stood at the front door of Eddward's house, the short young man growling in impatience. Once more, he rapped loudly on the door while ringing the doorbell. "Hey Double D! My mind control helmet wont build itself!" He roared, the redhead behind him holding the handle to a wagon filled with bits and pieces of junk.

"Control the masses Double D!" Ed called out raising a fist to the air, a big goofy grin on his mono-browed face.

"Oh dear..." Edd mumbled as he entered the rather large mall. The reality of his situation suddenly became much more real.

Snickering while nudging his shoulder a bit, the blond grinned. "No turning back now." A strange whimper escaped the androgynous young man's throat as he gripped the hem of his shirt.

Their first stop was a simple clothing store. The conservative apparel still made the young Ed blanch. He couldn't seem to come to terms that they were something he was going to wear for the next month.

As they rifled through the racks of clothing, they picked out a few thin clothed dresses as well as a few made long jackets that would go well with each. Nazz decided to go with darker tones with the young man, thinking it would go well with his hair as well as accentuate his 'beautiful blue eyes' as she put it.

The young man sighed a bit as he found himself practically locked within a changing room, a dozen or so outfits hanging on the various hooks within. At first, he had trouble figuring out how to put on the 'confusing' garments but quickly mastered them. It seemed to be going smoothly until a voice picked up outside.

"Do you need any help ma'am?" Asked one of the employees to Nazz. The girl attempted to fend off the woman with a simple 'no'. But after further inquiries into what the blond was doing made her sigh in frustration and attempt to deter the woman by having her show her some shoes that Nazz was pretty sure didn't exist. Seriously, moose-skin high-tops?

Sighing and giving a silent thanks to his friend, Edd went back to trying on a rather short skirt and sweater combination. He finally figured out how to get the skirt on correctly when a different voice came from outside the door.

"Ma'am, you've been in there for quite awhile. Do you need any help?" The store worker called through the door.

The boy froze in place as he stood in the stall in nothing but his skirt, thigh high socks, sneakers and his hat. He would have attempted to give some kind of response, but it seemed his throat refused to work at that very moment.

The jingling of keys made the young man panic. He began to frantically look around him for something – anything- that could get him out of the situation. When the sound of the lock hit his ear, he quickly snatched his hat off of his head and let his long hair free from the tie.

Just as the door opened, he turned around, using the sweater to cover his chest, a shocked look still on his face.

"Oh!" The woman started, staring at Edd for a brief moment. His cheeks were burning bright with a blush as the few tense moments passed. Would he be found out?

_Of course you're going to be found out! You look nothing like a girl! You're going to be humiliated. Just give up n-_ His thoughts were interrupted by the woman apologizing profusely as she closed and locked the door once more. Edd stood stunned. What just happened?

He heard Nazz come back, the swishing of her jeans a welcomed sound.

"You okay?" She asked casually as she leaned up against the door.

"A worker came in..." The long haired boy mumbled from under the sweater and he pulled it over his head. Pulling his hair out of the collar, he turned to look at himself in the full body mirror. The blush stayed on his cheeks as he look himself over. Though he refused to wear such a short skirt in public, he had to admit that he actually looks... Kind of attractive.

"What?" The girl gasped. "What happened?"

Removing the clothing once more, the boy shrugged to himself. "I... I don't know. I don't think she noticed." He surprised himself with a light giggle interlaced with his words. A giggle? The clothing had to be effecting him.

"Well, that's good." Nazz snickered a bit. "Well? How do you like them?"

Edd once now dressed in a pair of tight jeans, the curve of his backside being shown off much to his horror. The t-shirt was slightly small for him, showing off a bit of his stomach as he stood there. "I must say... It's... Different."

After paying for the several outfits, the two made their way to more and more stores, their haul growing with each stop. It wasn't until their final destination that the young man felt horrified. Before him stood a terrible, ominous thing.

A lingerie store.

"What are we doing here?!" He nearly shrieked just outside of the entrance causing quite a few patrons to take notice.

"Shhh!" Putting a finger to her lips, Nazz crossed her arms over her chest. "Listen," She huffed. "You can't go around wearing boxers, not even briefs under a skirt, no matter how long. We're here to get you, Double D, some new panties."

When did Nazz get so good as sounding so stern?

By the time it was late afternoon, the cul-de-sac was buzzing with commotion. No one could seem to find either Nazz nor Edd. Eddy began to come up with wild run-away stories of the two eloping. None of them made much sense really.

"The dork probably chickened out on the bet. I tell ya, Nazz is helping him out." Kevin grumbled as he leaned against his bright red sports car.

The brown haired young Ed's eyes narrowed as he stood beside Ed who was busy making something Double D had taught him long ago, a daisy chain. "He better not've..."

Both of the young men turned to look at the old blue car is it pulled into Nazz's driveway. The two quickly made their way over as two young women stepped out.

"Nazz! Where's Double Dork?" Kevin asked as he walked over to the blond whom simply frowned at him.

"Yeah! All she has is this girl and all of these clo-...Oh... Oh OH! This is Sockhead!" The short young man gasped.

Before them stood Edd, dressed in a tastefully short skirt which just brushed the middle of his smooth, supple thighs. A thick turtleneck sweater hugged to the form of his torso, its light, slate blue contrasting well to the thin, black cloth of the skirt. A pair of white, thigh high stockings covered his legs while a pair of black ankle boots surrounded his feet.

Watching the androgynous figure before him move a few strands of long black hair behind an ear, Kevin could only mutter a few words. "No way..."

* * *

A bit of insight into why Nazz is acting the way she is in this chapter. But wait! What's this strange secret she seems to be hiding? Stay tuned kids to found out in our next exciting episode! As always, reviews a like gold to me, that means that the more I get, the happier I'll be! 


	3. Chp 3: Dressed to the Eds

I can't say I'm completely happy with this chapter, which is probably why it isn't too long. It was really hard to get started for some reason. Anyway, I'm glad this story is getting such a positive reaction. Please tell me in there is something that doesn't make sense / isn't right / sound stupid in this chapter.

* * *

**Chapter 3: Dressed to the Eds**

Kevin could only mutter a few words. "No way..."

Was this even the same person for sure? Their friend of so many years, whom they were all very certain was a young man now stood before them a slim young girl!

"P-Please stop staring so much." Edd mumbled, attempting to hide his exposed legs with the short skirt. While the plead was heard, the two teenage boys barely acknowledged the statement. Eddy's deep brown eyes seemed to have settled on the stocking covered legs as a slow blush crawled across his cheeks. When were Double D's legs so curvy and smooth?

Time seemed to freeze for a second for the young scam artist.

His head snapped up to look at the long haired boy who was watching Kevin and himself. "S-Still looks like ol' Double D to me!" Eddy proclaimed a bit too loud. He nudged Ed's side as he walked up, the daisy chain he was braiding still in his hands. "Sockhead looks kinda girly, doesn't he Lumpy?"

Ed looked down at the figure before him. Staring up at him nervously, Edd could practically hear the lines being drawn in his friends head, trying to connect the new appearance verses the old. The black haired young man wouldn't be surprised if Ed didn't recognize him. After all, Eddy did fool the lovable oaf with a simple costume change.

The green eyed young man continued to stare at his childhood friend for a few moments before a big goofy grin spread across his strong features. "Double D is pretty again!" His strong arms swung out from his sides, the daisy chain in one hand as he wrapped his arms around the slim young man, lifting him from the ground in a bone crushing hug once more. Not so long ago, Edd would have protested to this contact as Ed was notoriously bad at hygiene; thankfully, he took well to a 'bathroom boot camp' the two other Eds made for him.

"W-Why thank you Ed." Edd mumbled patting the thick red mane on his tall friend's head.

"I guess Double Dweeb doesn't look so bad dressed like that." Kevin mumbled looking to the side with a slight blush. The jock huffed a bit. "Just remember dork, you gotta dress like that for a full month!"

Nazz cleared her throat as she waved to Ed. "Hey big guy, c'mere and help Double D take his new clothes to his house."

Dropping the pale skinned young man back to the pavement, Ed began to pull bags out from the back seat of the banged up car, the owner of the clothing brushing out wrinkles from his clothing.

"So what's up with the sneaking around?" Eddy asked standing before Edd with his arms crossed, an unhappy look on his features. "Couldn't take Ed and I?"

"Th-That's 'me and Ed', Eddy." The long haired young man corrected, earning an even stronger glare. "W-Well um... uh..." He jumped with he felt a hand grip his right shoulder. Kevin stood beside him with a sly grin.

"Double D wanted to be all alone with Nazz eh?" Tugging at the thick collar of the sweater with a finger, the redhead snickered a bit. "What is it? The girly clothes giving you a little more confidence?"

The long haired young man's mouth moved, but only unintelligible mutters came forth making a blush grow on his cheeks. The gazes of the two teenagers made him back up a bit, bumping into the bent over teenager still pulling out bags from the car.

"Veronica's Mystery?" Ed said in a loud enough voice for the two grinning young men to hear. "Double D, my mom shops there too!" The redhead announced happily as he turned around, a black bag with silver letting in hand.

Eddy and Kevin turned to look at each other, massive cheshire grins splitting their features. The two nearly lunged for the bag, nearly knocking over Edd in their conquest to see the contents within the high-quality bag.

"N-No!" Edd squeaked trying to grab the bag from them. Just as the two were about to look into the bag, a book rushed past the black haired boy's head, nailing Kevin in the side of the head.

Laying on the ground beside a book on advanced chemistry, Kevin watched Nazz snatch back the bag from Eddy who grumbled but said little against the young woman, a lump forming on the side of the jock's head. "Geeze Nazz."

"Don't go looking through things like that." She informed turning to Ed, looping the handles around one of his arms. The two young men acquiesced to the command, Kevin standing once more.

Turning to look at the boy in the white stockings, Kevin smirked a bit. "So what's in that bag dork? Something to match those stockings?" Kevin's green eyes ran over the feminine legs, slowly up the young man's form.

Edd's mouth opened, about to deny all accusations of such a things, until a strong gust of cold wind rushed past them; Edd looking horrified as the quick gust kicked up the black skirt just briefly enough to offer the two young men a view of simple but cute white panties, a bow on the front of the waistband the same color as his sweater.

Nearly a full minute passed between the two stunned young men.

"Wanna help Ed, Eddy?" The blond girl quickly interrupted as she pushed the last few bags into his hands, a small glare in her eyes. Stuttering an affirmative, Eddy and Ed were lead by the girl in the direction of the black haired boy's house.

Said you man stood stunned as well, his hands gripping the front and back of the thin cloth around his thighs. His wide eyes stayed fixed on the ground just in front of Kevin's feet as the two stood in silence.

"Heh... Y-You're pretty tough, dork." Mumbled Kevin as he passed by Edd, thumping his shoulder lightly with a fist. "This should be fun." He added as he made his way towards his home.

_Curse you mother nature._ The slim young man whimpered in his mind as he began walking towards his own house. _I'll never be able to look at those two again..._ His eyes glanced over at the sight of a white hybrid car pulling into the driveway of his house, a bike strapped to the back of it. Suddenly, his heart sank even more as he froze in place on the sidewalk. _Mother and father!_ Edd could feel himself begin to quake in fear. _H-How will I even explain this to __**them**_?

As nausea began to overtake him, the young man attempted to assure himself that they wouldn't be too stunned. _Surely mother will be accepting, she has recalled many times about dealing with young men dressed like myself... But what about if her son was like that? _Edd began to pace back and forth a bit on the sidewalk. _I-I'm certain... I have the least to fear from her. _He sighed. _But father... He's a bit more..._ The long haired boy looked up from across the cul-de-sac to watch his parents step out of the small vehicle.

His father was a tall man, slim in build with a regal face. A messy mop of black hair rested on his head, slightly windswept in style. Sea green eyes watched the world with a piercing gaze from behind a pair of small, square framed glasses that rested on the end of his nose. While he did seem a bit intense, his father was a kind hearted man deep down, full of love and passion. Edd had gathered over the years that he had acquired his near obsessive need for order from him.

Watching the man in his late thirties remove the bike made from spare parts from the back of the car, Edd completed his thought with a simple word. _Challenging..._

His father rolled the back through the fence into the backyard just as a shorter, slim woman emerged from the white car. Seeing his mother was almost like a breath of fresh air for the young man. Her golden hair in its natural curls blew in the cool breeze as she looked around a bit. Even from where he was, Edd could see the womans soft blue eyes and kind features. It was something he admired about her. Aside from being furious about adhesive residue, she was nearly always cheerful.

"Might as well..." The black haired young man mumbled as he began to cross the circular road.

He approached her as she retrieved a few paper bags from the backseat of the car, _Most likely some left over produce._ Edd thought as he stepped over the curb. He was about to call to her when the blond woman stood up straight, her arms full with bags.

With a sandal covered foot, she closed the door easily and spun around to walk around her husband's vehicle. In mid-step, she stopped, her eyes on the blushing figure before her. Her small smile turned to an even brighter one as she bowed her head a bit. "Hello there! I haven't see _your _face around here. Are you new to the neighborhood?"

Edd nearly blanched. How did she not recognize him? He was about to correct her when she set the sacks on the trunk of the car rummaging through one, humming slightly. The young man in the skirt opened his mouth to try and communicate once more but was silence with the presentation of a quite unusual looking piece of fruit.

Examining the deep red flesh of the 'spine' covered object, Edd looked to his mother questioningly.

"Pitaya, or as many know it, Dragon Fruit." His mother grinned. "Rich in antioxidants and vitamins. I hope you and your family can enjoy it as a snack."

"I would love a piece." Edd finally spoke, the woman's smile becoming a bit confused, her head tilting slightly.

"My, how unusual, you sound just like my son." She commented, then faltered a bit. "N-Not that you said manly! I-I'm sorry!"

Sometimes, Edd did indeed wonder how his strict, no nonsense father and slightly breezy, fun loving mother even met.

"Dear, have you seen Eddward? His friends are inside eating some of your Bean Sprout Salad." Edd's father called stepping out of the front door. "He didn't even leave a post-it in his absence." The bespectacled man huffed a bit. Scratching at his bed-head like hair, the man stopped, standing beside his wife. "Oh, and who is this?" The man smiled kindly.

Once more, Edd blanched. _You too father?_

"Daniel, dear, this is a new neighbor, I gave her a..." As the tanned woman explained the situation, Edd began to plan out the best way to explain to _them_ that he was in fact, their son.

"Hey Double D! You're outta ranch dressing!" Eddy, always the loudmouth, bellowed from the doorway.

And, without thinking about it, the young man was obliged to aid his friend. "There's a new bottle on the bottom shelf of the pantr-" He slapped his delicate hands over his mouth, looking from the brown haired young mans to his parents who were now both staring, quite hard, at Edd.

"E-Eddward?" His mother stuttered a bit as she leaned down to look at the long haired boy. "W-What are you doing dear?" She asked with another confused smile.

"Perhaps we should... Talk inside?" Edd mumbled playing with the end of one of his sleeves.

After shooing the other teenagers out of the house, Edd found himself within the living room of his small, tidy home. He stood before his parents who sat on the couch waiting for an explanation of such a drastic change in their son.

"Now, explain." Daniel, Edd's father, stated evenly. He sat straight and rigid, his arms over his chest. "Did your friends bully you into this?"

"Daniel..." The blond woman mumbled placing a hand on her husband's arm.

Gulping down as much fear as he could, the long haired young man began to tell them of the party and of the game of truth or dare, leaving out some of the more unusual antics that were involved with it. When he finally explained the terms of the deal though, his parents seemed to have two completely different reactions.

"Eddward dear! I'm glad you're trying something new. Though I'm worried about-" His mouther began.

"About what this will do to your studies! Do you think your teachers will accept such behavior from a high school student of your intelligence?" He didn't sound angry, but Edd's father didn't looked pleased either. "You're going to risk your entire future for money?"

"Daniel I-"

"No Hazel, he knows what I mean." The black haired man stated, silencing the curly haired woman.

Edd bit his bottom lip a bit. "W-Well... J-Jimmy is well known among the teachers as being... Effeminate, and they don't seem to pay much attention."

The blond woman smiled and stood up, moving towards her son, equally as tall as she was. She took his hands into hers and squeezed lightly. "Yes dear, that's true, but does he dress up like this?" Seeing the boy's head shake, she nodded. "Then what proof is there that they will allow it?"

"None, mother." Edd mumbled in defeat. "Though... I would like to attempt to continue this bet..."

Hazel, his mother, looked back to her husband who gave a deep sigh a stood up, moving across the room, placing a hand on the sweater covered shoulder of his son. "Eddward, I'm not going to tell you what you must do. You're sensible enough to do it. Though I ask you, if they tell you to change at school, please do so."

"I-I will father." The boy smiled a bit before the man hugged him a bit. The slim young man believed he had the best parents in the world.

"So..." Daniel mumbled as he stepped back looking in the direction of his son's room. "What was in those bags I saw your friend carrying?"

Blushing, Edd rubbed the back of his neck. "A-A months worth of new clothes?" His father continued to stare at the bedroom and gave a small smirk before walking back outside to bring in the groceries they'd left on the car.

"Eddward?" The blond woman mumbled.

Turning to look at her soft blue eyes, Edd expected to be confronted once more, the sad look in the woman's eyes making him a bit nervous. "Y-Yes mother?"

"C-Can I have the pitaya back? I wanna eat it for a snack..." Hazel whimpered, a bit teary eyed.

The teenager could only laugh and hug the woman.

* * *

Well, there you have it, chapter three down! How many are left? I dunno yet, I keep coming up with ideas for more chapters. Anyway! Since I've yet to see many stories dealing with the kid's parents, I decided to give it try. I've heard of people giving Edd a pair of mean, abusive parents. Yeah, that's crap in my opinion. I could see Edd's mother being a hippy-like woman. Why? Well, if you remember some of the things that they mention she had, most of them were either healthy, all natural, or, in the case of the laundry detergent, eco-friendly. I also made her a little breezy just cause it was cute. Daniel, Edd's dad I bit more stern, though still kind. I don't think I managed it, but he's an accountant. I'll probably go a bit more into their description later, as well as some of the other parents.


	4. Chp 4: Such is Ed

Update/Edit: Well, I forgot to save whatever I had here before updating, but whatever. Sorry for taking so long to update, school and life got in the way. I took the time to fix some big mistakes I made in this chapter, like the PE scene that I kinda skipped. I was barely awake when I finished the chapter up and submitted it, so it didn't seem so important at the time. Also, I fixed the ending cause it was charging blindly into the relationship of the two without any development, and that's a no-no in mine, and probably many other people's _Excuse Me While I Kiss This Ed: Chapter 4 - Version 2.0_

_

* * *

  
_

**Chapter 4: Such is Ed**

Monday had rolled around once again meaning only one thing. School.

Edd sighed to himself as he lay in the soft, baby blue colored bed staring at the ceiling of his neat and tidy room. One of his hands twirled a strand of thick black hair around his delicate fingers as his brilliant mind mulled over the soon to come classes at Peach Creek High. The thoughts weren't on the paper he'd already written, nor on the various homework assignments he'd completed before the weekend. Instead, his thoughts dwelt upon the reason he was dressed in a pair of small boy-shorts which hugged his waist snugly and a slightly over sized white tank top.

Holding up a lock of his long hair up to inspect, the blue eyed boy let his other hand rest on the exposed flesh of his flat stomach. _I need to trim this up... _He thought sleepily. _Maybe I could ask Jimmy, I believe he cuts most of the kids' hair in the cul-de-sac. _Slowly, his eyes lazily drifted to the small, digital alarm clock across the room from his simple bed. It was still an hour before the alarm would go off.

The young man rolled over to rest on his stomach, his head facing towards the blank wall just under the window above his bed. He knew he was trying to avoid thinking about the thing that was causing his stomach to feel like it was tying itself in knots. From the wall, his sight slid backwards to himself, his eyes on the bright orange shorts hugging his rounded backside snugly, the words 'No Touch' in large white letters staring right back at him.

With a soft sigh, Edd pushed himself up to sit on his knees as he stretched with a satisfied moan followed by the sound of several pops along his back. _No sense in trying to go back to sleep now._ He eyed his closet door a few moments before shaking his head. _I don't think I can even pick something out right now._ Reaching to the simple wooden night stand, he put on a pair of large, rounded glasses and yawned, the back of his hand covering his mouth as he stretched once more. As he did his best to revive his muscles, he mused on the simple specs that sharpened his vision. He wasn't sure when it was he last wore them outside. Normally he would wear contacts which he found to be the preferred when it came to any kind of activity, especially when it came to building some scrap-parts clockwork for one of Eddy's scams.

Looking to the digital clock once more, Edd read the luminous blue numbers again. 6:08.

Slipping on his white bunny slippers as he normally did, which Nazz found rather hilarious at how 'girly' they were, the young teenager made he way out into the hall of his spotless home. Squares of yellow paper littered the doors and pictures frames, last moment reminders of something important left by his parents. His parents had already left for the day, off to their jobs. His father was a simple public accountant while his mother ran a small health food shop on the outskirts of the city nearby.

_It's so surprising they actually took this change so well..._ Edd thought as he looked down to his smooth, pale legs as he descended the stairs. Without a second thought, he let his right hand dip down to brush over a mostly exposed thigh, the feeling of small hairs making him frown. _I must remember to shave this morning..._ Allowing the thought to pass to the back of his mind, he focused on the task of preparing himself a breakfast.

After finding a multi-grain bagel and some organic soy cream cheese spread, the young man found himself enjoying the healthy meal with a glass of freshly made orange juice as he read the newspaper his father had most likely read only a short while ago.

The long haired young made was broken out of his reading by the sound of his doorbell. It was such a commonplace thing in the morning as his friends normally came by to pick him up to walk with them, that he didn't think twice as he moved to answer it. The clock reading 6: 57 received little attention as he made for the door to open it.

Behind the door though, was the last person he had expected to see.

"K-Kevin?" Edd chirped lightly in surprise. He watched the redhead man for a few moments and noticed a red coloring forming along the young man's cheeks. Following the gaze downward to his small shorts, Edd blushed a deep red color and hid behind the door quickly. "I-I'm sorry! Y-You see I h-haven't prepared for the d-day yet." One of the hands on the edge of the door went to fix his glasses on his nose and bit as he looked up at Kevin in embarrassment.

Adjusting his signature red hat a bit, the strong looking young man looked around a bit. "Y-Yeah that cool..." He mumbled before motioning back to his car. "I was wondering if you'd maybe like... I dunno, a ride or something to school today... Y'know... Just thought you might not wanna walk to school 'cause of the bet and all... At least on the first day... Y'know?"

Letting his eyes flick from the football player to his sleek sports car, Edd smiled appreciatively. "That's sweet Kevin. I would very much appreciate that." Nodding a bit, the long haired boy looked behind him towards the clock in the hallway. "B-But isn't it a bit early?"

"U-Umm yeah I just... I just wanted to beat the other dorks here. Y'know... To just... I guess to... Like... Make it a little easier for you I guess." Kevin mumbled staring at the ground.

Smiling a little more, Edd nodded and opened the door a bit more, following with it to stay hidden. "Please, do come in Kevin, I'll get ready quickly."

Stepping in, Kevin removed his shoes as he was politely asked by the blushing young man, once more exposed in his boy shorts. "Not too fast dork, we have plenty of time." The short haired young man smirked a bit as the one in glasses smiled and nodded running up the stairs. Green eyes instinctively followed the firm backside up the stairs then suddenly slammed shut as his mind quickly recalled that it was a young man's rear he was ogling. _Double Dweeb just looks too much like a chick._ Kevin reasoned shaking his head a bit as he made his way further into the living room. Casually, he took a spot on the couch and snatched for the remote placed neatly on the table beside a few others, smallest to largest. _Weird..._ The tall young man noted before turning on the television.

Meanwhile, Edd found himself holding up a small, white hoodie up to himself in the mirror. Its long sleeves were a little past his fingers, but the rest of it would hold close to his form. Switching, he held up a pair of low-hip jeans, giving a slight nod. Setting them on hooks carefully, he turned to his dresser with a gulp.

Pulling open the most bottom drawer, his eyes winced at the sights of various panties of different fashions. He could recall he exact conversation that he had with Nazz when she was explaining the problem with the jeans he had picked out.

"_You see, it's kinda trampy to wear these pants while wearing normal panties." Her hands motioned to a small rack behind herself. "Even these thongs are t-" Edd had blushed and looked away. "C'mon Double D! You'll be wearing these soon enough!"_

"_Shhh!" The young man attempted to silence the girl, a few fellow patrons looking over curiously for a moment. "I-I refuse to wear those!" He whispered harshly._

_A sly grin on the young woman's face made him squirm a bit. "Oh ho... Dude, you're in for a treat then..." Grabbing his wrist, Nazz pulled Edd to a far corner of the lingerie store, pointing out a rack with what could be barely passed off for clothing. "Ta-daa! Low-cut panties, for those who don't wanna go commando or show off what panties they're wearing. For those a bite more adventurous, we also have extra-low-cut."_

Edd blushed a bit as he reached in and pulled out a random pair in the 'low-cut' pile, he quickly grabbed the rest of his clothing and made a b-line for the bathroom.

After taking a longer than expected shower, the young Ed sighed as he dried himself off. Being freshly cleaned, shaved, and woken up made him feel great. He let his blue eyes run over his naked for in the mirror briefly, smiling slightly. Giving into self-indulgence and a bit of narcissism, Edd had to admit. He had a good figure.

After striking a silly 'sexy pose' at himself and giggling about it, the long haired boy brushed his teeth and such before dressing. Under his white hoodie rested a form fitting white t-shirt, a small picture of a black puppy running around on the bottom of the front.

Finally, the young man found his way downstairs, a pink blush on his face matching a certain pair of panties he happened to grab out of embarrassment. He didn't think to change them out due to time constraints so simply bit the bullet.

Rounding the stairs, Edd stopped, tilting his head as he observed the scene before him. Kevin sat on the simple couch within the living room, the news on the television giving their view on some story. His right arm sat propped up on the arm rest, his cheek resting in his hand as he breathed slowly and evenly, sure signs of sleep.

Adjusting his satchel backpack, the long haired young man moved closer giggling lightly. Standing before the young man, Edd leaned forward a bit and shook on Kevin's shoulder gently. "Wake up Kevin, we need to leave soon."

A green eye opened slowly, followed by the other one, both blinking a few times before focusing on Edd. "O-Oh... Hey dork." Kevin grinned a bit as he stood up, looking down towards the young Ed. "Sorry about that... I'm normally still asleep."

"I don't doubt it. It was very kind of you to come pick me up." Edd smiled and bowed his head a bit. "Oh! I should leave a note for Eddy and Ed. I hope they're not too angry with me..." He ran into the kitchen and back out once more, a small yellow sticky-note in hand. "Ready?"

The two were soon driving off down the street. It occurred to Edd though that he'd never been in Kevin's car which made him feel a bit uneasy. He recalled that when he first got the car he enjoyed doing tricks in it once in awhile, much like he did on his bike back only a few years ago.

"Don't worry dork, I'll be careful." The older of the two snickered a bit as if reading Edd's thoughts. "I'll do a few doughnuts later I guess." Kevin lets his eyes move towards Double D as he placed a small black hair band in between his lips, his hands working to gather all the thick black mane into one hand. With a deft movement, the hair was put up into a messy bun on the back of the teenager's head. "Y'know Double Dweeb..." Kevin began as the pulled to a stop at a light. "And I mean this in the most non-gay way possible... You like pretty nice today."

Blushing a bit and looking to his jean clad legs, Edd smiled a little. "Platonic."

"Eh? Wassat mean?"

"That's the nicer way of saying 'non-sexual' or in this case, 'non-gay'." The younger of the two informed softly.

Rubbing the back of his neck as the light turned green once more, Kevin laughed nervously. "Sorry... I didn't mean to offend you or anything."

"W-What? Oh no no! I-I was just... I..." Blushing, Edd shook his head. "Expanding your vocabulary..." He muttered in a very like grumble.

It was a few minutes of silence, the school within few of the two. The sun was beginning to crawl into its morning position just above the horizon, the sky bright orange, much like the driver's hair. The two pulled into a parking space, neither of them moving quite yet.

Kevin glanced to his passenger and raised an eyebrow. "I wonder... How'd you folks take the idea if the bet?"

Laughing a bit, Edd turned to look at Kevin's deep green eyes. "Surprisingly well actually. They had me bring a change of clothes though, just in case the teachers find it unacceptable. 'Eddward, your education is all we're worried about,' is what they told me."

"Well, let's hope all the Screws are okay with it... I kinda like it." With that, the young man slid out of the car, his passenger's mouth wide open in shock as he stared at the driver's seat. "Coming, dork?" The redhead called pulling their bags out of the trunk of the car.

"I thank you again Kevin, very much. I don't think I could have found the nerve to walk all the way here." The blue eyed young man mumbled as he leaned a bit against the car, his left arm rubbing his right as he stared at the dark pavement.

Placing a hand on one of the slim boy's shoulders, Kevin grinned. "Just don't expect this all the time." Watching Edd nod, the boy in the hat frowned a little. "But really Double D... I don't want you to get beat up over some stupid bet. If anyone gives you crap, just tell me."

"O-Of course Kevin." The boy in the white hoodie blushed a smile. "W-Well I'll go ahead now. I'm going to see if the nurse needs assistance today."

Nodding, Kevin watched the figure walk towards the school, his face staying stoic for a few moments. It wasn't until the young man had glanced back when he reached the front door and smiled that Kevin offered a small smile and wave back.

The blasting of a car horn made the young man jump and look out towards the street to see a black jeep barrel through the entrance to the parking lot of the school. Several large teenagers nearly hanging out of the soft-cover vehicle cheered to their team's quarterback, Kevin, as they passed by. He couldn't say that he liked them much, but they were part of his team and that was enough for the redhead to tolerate them.

Back within the cul-de-sac, Eddy grumbled to himself about the woes of attending school as his tall, barely awake friend stumbled along beside him. "Double D better let me copy his homework today..." The brown haired boy mumbled to himself looking up to Ed who gave a loud yawn.

When they reached the front door to the young man in quesiton's house, Eddy began to knock loudly. "C'mon Sockhead! Stop picking out your dress and get moving!" Waiting for a response, Eddy continued to pound on the door.

"Oh look! Sticky note!" Ed laughed in a tired tone as he reached for the yellow piece of paper on the the door.

"What, they run outta room inside already?" Eddy snickered snagging the note he hadn't noticed before. "'Dear Ed and Edd,'" The shorter of the two began, mocking Edd's voice. "'I've accompanied Kevin to school a bit early. I have done so to avoid an con... Conflict. I apologize and will see you soon. Eddward.'..." Sighing and rubbing his head, the brown eyed boy groaned. "Geeze! How'm I gonna get the homework now?"

Edd sighed as he exited the nurse's office. She didn't need any help with anything help and was in the process of speaking with the principal. At first, the long haired young man was startled and rather embarrassed at seeing the head of the school so early on the first day back to school in girl's clothing. After stuttering out a brief, half-true explanation, Edd was given a hearty clap on the shoulder by the older man who simply shook his head with a light laugh. _"Crazy kids."_ He said in a light chuckle. After assuring Edd that he wouldn't stand for any bullying of him either, he left the office.

Adjusting the glasses on the end of his nose, the feminine young man began to notice more students beginning to make their way into the main area of the high school, a smile brightening his features as he walked over to greet one of the children from his cul-de-sac; Nazz to be specific, who was talking to Rolf at the moment.

With all of his brutally hard labor, Rolf had grown into a wall of a young man. He could easily stand his ground against even the biggest linebacker of the football team and probably win with relative ease. A patch of thick hair, a nearly navy blue-black color much like his hair, on his chin.

"Salutations Nazz, Rolf." Edd greeted as he made his way closer.

Nazz grinned a bit looking the young man over with a finger on her chin. "Lookin' good today dude. Good choice in ensemble." Looking up at the nearly seven feet tall young man, the blond nudged Rolf in the side. "Don't you think so?"

Blushing behind his glasses, Edd looked away as the shaggy haired son-of-a-shepherd inspected him a bit close. "Rolf does not know this one." Standing up straight, Rolf looked to Nazz. "Rolf cannot keep up with this horrible place's nincompoop ways!"

Feeling a rant beginning to emerge, Edd quickly placed his hand's on the young man's and patted them lightly. "I-It's me Rolf, Double D."

"Double the Ed-boy?" Rolf asked in his deep bass voice. "What are you doing in what resembles Turkey-eye's sister's clothing?"

"Remember? The bet at the party?" The young girl among the three reminded as she moved a bit of her golden locks behind her right ear.

Rolf gave a curt nod and grinned looking to Edd. "Rolf would say it seems to be going well?"

Looking to the two's expectant looks, the long haired waif nodded a bit as he rubbed one of his thin arms, looking around. "I don't think many have taken notice yet. I-I actually happened to have ran into the principal a bit ago... H-He was surprisingly supportive."

With a hearty chuckle, Rolf put an arm around Edd's shoulders. "Rolf looks forward to watching these shenanigans unfold." Clapping one of his rough, heavy hands on the cross dresser's left shoulder, the farm hand motioned ominously towards one of the hallways which split off from the main area of the simple school. "Make haste though you two. The toll of the bell draws near and brings with it the wrath of the elders." And, as it happened everyday, Rolf's wall of a form crumbled into a disheartened hunch as he pulled his feet behind him towards his classes.

"Poor guy." Nazz mumbled sympathetically towards the strong back of the retreating form.

It seemed that Rolf was right; for just as Edd was about to comment, the screaming sounding of the siren like bell made the ocean of students go silent in a collective wince of pain. The conversations of the students started up soon after the indicator of the beginning of their day went mute once more. A feeling of isolation hit Edd when he noticed that his blond counterpart was no longer beside him, causing him to play with the hem of his hoodie, his still slightly gapped teeth biting at his lower lip.

As his deep blue eyes searched amongst the faces close by him, he could feel a slight relief leak through the neurotic feelings within his mind. Who knew that the careless, unfeeling nature of teenagers and their cliques could help one's personal dilemmas?

Glad of this new revelation, the black haired young man adjusted his glasses a bit and made his way into the flow of bodies.

Thankfully, his early morning classes were mostly with the children from his cul-de-sac, thus, Edd felt that he had little to fear in terms of harsh judgment. Unfortunately, the same could not be said for he Physical Education class.

Due to never having been much of a person for much exercise, the young waif always hated the class. It was the reason he hated attending school. Tests on college level information and piles of homework were easy in comparison of running a mile within a few minutes or playing a game of football.

It wasn't a coincidence that when he thought of entering that class during the middle of the day, a horrible feeling of impending doom made its place deep inside the pit of his stomach. Edd could feel the eyes boring into him as he stepped into the boy's locker room. Humiliation flowed through his body causing his muscles to feel locked, his eyes staring at the tiled floor, the voices of his classmates reaching his ears. Oh how they would laugh at him when he changed clothing too.

Seeing no reason to humiliate himself even more with his choice of underwear, the long haired boy slipped into one of the plain, small showers with a changing area connected to it. He set his shoulder bag down on the small, white plastic bench and began to pull off his clothing with a deep sigh.

A deep blush of red colored his round cheeks as he warmed up with the rest of the class. Various chuckles and snickers wafted amongst the class as they did their stretched. A pair of small light blue shorts covered the young man's legs, much like the ones he had worn to sleep, perhaps a bit longer. Covering his chest was a large black t-shirt, reaching a little under his waist, nearly covering half of the length of the shorts. As usual, long socks came up to his knees while sneakers rested on his feet.

"I told you he's totally gay!" One of the young men in his class snickered. Edd silently recalled the large figure as being part of the football team, several of his buddies sitting around him. "Ya'll owe me some money now!"

Silence was all Edd offered back as he bit his lip once more, focusing on his stretches. One thought running through his mind.

_I sure do wish I had my hat..._

As usual, following the stretches, the class was told to do several laps around the gymnasium. During the warmer seasons and even sometimes in the autumn, they would have been on the track, but due to the near freezing temperatures outside, the students were forced to deal with the much smaller quarters.

Also, following the normal routine of things, Edd found himself doing his best to keep up with the mob, albeit at the very back. It was no surprise when some of the better athletes began to pass him a second or even third time. What happened though, was a bit strange. While some of them normally offered words of encouragement when the passed, they were dead silent, not even sparing a glance to the astute boy. He would offer smiles at them, only to be ignored, causing him to feel a bit disheartened.

For the most part, it wasn't that much of a bother. He could understand that perhaps his sudden change of a appearance would throw some off, it was only natural. It wasn't until he noticed the presence of nearly four figures around him that he felt a grave feeling deep in his stomach.

His sapphire eyes went to look to the young men about him, all of them nearly a foot taller than himself and outweighing him by one hundred or so pounds. The football players that had taken notice of his cross dressing antics so quickly had gathered around him like a pack of wolves looking to take down prey.

Double D gulped back his fear and looked up to the blond young man beside him. "C-Can I h-help you?"

The beast of a teenager narrowed his dark brown eyes and moved a bit closer, nearly bumping into Edd. "Yeah, you little faggot..." He began, the hand closest to the teenage prodigy reaching up to the slim shoulder. "Take a break." The blond growled. And with the strength of a falling bookshelf against the back of his neck, Edd found himself thrown to the floor face first. He felt the frames of his glasses snap between his eyes and slide along the ground, the crunching of lenses breaking under heavy feet soon following.

Little time was spent on the pain running through his face, even on the glasses that were ruined. The distinct feeling of a foot landing on his hand and twisting slightly made the lithe boy cry out in sharp pain, his eyes snapping shut. Light snickers from the jocks making him whimper a bit as he sat up, nursing the quickly bruising appendage.

"Oh hey man, you okay?" Asked a different football player, his dark brown hair highlighted with blond tips put into a faux-hawk style. He features showed concern, but even through his bleary vision, Edd could see the teasing, hate filled feelings. Without waiting for a response, a hand roughly gripped Edd's own injured one like a vice, another loud whimper of pain forcing itself up from his throat.

With the caring gentleness of a car wreck, the snickering young man pulled Edd to his feet and ran off to join his nearly cackling friends.

Edd could only continue his meek jog, cradling the now purple-ish hand.

Hoping for something easy on such a horrible day, the black haired boy listened to the coach as he explained their activity for the day. Maybe it would be something like frisbee or even hacky-sack, something without much work involved.

As irony would have it, Edd found himself staring across the middle of the gym to a team of his fellow students, several rubber balls lined up in the middle, the teenagers ready to rush forward to grab them to begin their brutal sport. Dodgeball...

Gulping his fear back, the slim teenager concentrated a bit, trying to make out faces on the other side. His blurred vision offered nothing to him, making him feel even worse. He knew that he was always targeted in this horrible game because he was so meek. Seeing who would aim for it made it a bit easier though. The game begin and the sounds of squeaking sneakers filled the large room.

Nearly four minutes into the game, Edd heard his name called loudly. Just as he turned, a large round object made itself perfectly clear to him as it neared his face. Such force caused his head to snap back, knocking him off balance and onto his back.

The middle-aged man, their coach, signaled to the blue eyed teenager to leave the court, which Edd was all too happy to do, he was glad to be away from such horrible treatment. But, just as he was about to step out of bounds, another ball collided with the side of his head, just as the blond jock from before 'tripped' beside him, a hand reaching out to catch himself on the slim boy.

Edd froze in place at the feeling of his shorts sliding down his smooth legs.

The class went dead silent as everyone stared at the light pink, low-hip panties covering the young man, a smiling cloud on his rounded bottom. Edd wished he could die on the spot. He heard the insincere apology mumbled from the football player who handed him back the shorts, the hint of a smile on his lips.

Fresh tears began to streak Edd's cheeks as he snatched them from the tall boy's grip and ran towards the locker room.

His brutal verbal torture was over within an hour, lunch following. He could feel the quivering feeling in his chin, the sign of impending sobs, as his vision began to blur. The sounds of the voices of his best friends, Ed and Eddy, barely registered to him as he pushed through the mobs of bodies making way for the cafeteria.

Meanwhile, the two Eds glanced at each other in confusion. Never had they been ignored so bluntly by their brainy buddy.

"Geeze! Sockhead's been flaky all day! I'm gonna hafta make him design something really complicated for the next scam." Eddy grumbled crossing his arms.

"I have a special shampoo for flakies he can use Eddy!" The tall redhead announced happily. The shortest of the three Eds simply looked up at his monobrowed friend in terrible disgust. He never wanted to relive the episode of dandruff snow again.

Within the halls of the school, the slim young Ed felt the heavy tears begin to stream down his cheeks. He didn't know exactly where he was trying to escape to, nor where he was actually walking, he could barely see at all.

Angry thoughts brewed in his mind, causing him to shake his head to release them. He couldn't comprehend the reason for people being so unkind. Even if they wished to make fun of him, why couldn't they at least say it when he wasn't in earshot.

So blind to his surroundings, Edd failed to spot the figure walking through the halls in a gray sweat suit. It barely registered in his mind until he collided with said figure full force.

"I-I," Began the black haired young man as his eyes spotted one of the school's coveted pizza slices on the ground, its deep red sauce beginning to form a dark stain on the school's navy blue carpeting. "I-I wasn't watching. I'll pay y-you back." Edd sniffled. He could feel another wave of sobs just beginning to burst forth. Was it his fate to be suddenly hated by the males of his school? Had the Witches conspired to makes his life miserable all of a sudden. "Y-You umm, I'm so... I wasn't watching."

Unknown to Edd, the source of the reason for his feminine appearance stood right before him. Kevin watched as the meek young man before him began to practically fall apart. His curious features began to fall as the normally articulate young man's words began to change into incomprehensible whimpers and sobs.

"Whoa whoa whoa Double D. What's wrong man?" The suddenly concerned teenager asked as he placed one of his hands on the slim shoulder, his other holding a stack of papers and folders. Shock hit the taller teenager as the feminine young man pressed forward into the strong body, his hands gripping at the fabric of Kevin's sweater, his face hiding in the cloth.

Blushing a bit and looking around, the hat wearing young man lead Edd towards an empty classroom, his arm around the heaving shoulders as comforting as he could muster. He sat the young man down in one of the desk's chairs and stood before his shaking form, the paperwork left to the side. Kevin waited a few moments as Edd's sobs slowly calmed down to soft whimpering, his fingers wiping his eyes under the thick lenses of his glasses.

Kneeling down to look up at the blue eyed young man, Kevin offered a small smile. "You okay now Double D?" A meek nod made him grin. "Okay, so, what's wrong?"

Sniffling a bit, the pale young man wiped his eyes and took in a deep, ragged breath, closing his sore eyes. He began to recall to Kevin the day of insults and abuse he had to deal with, how the football team were making bets on him and teasing him all throughout class. All too soon, the unsettling feeling of sorrow began to work its way back into his system, his lip quivering as he gripped the jeans on his legs.

"Double D, man..." Kevin mumbled as he stood up. His deep olive green eyes looked back towards the door then towards his shaking friend. Within his mind, he told himself that he _really _should do what he was about to do. No moral sense could be made out of it. Maybe if just to help a childhood friend.

Edd found himself beginning to cry again, even as the gentle hands pulled him slowly to his feet. "I-I'm sorry Kevin." He found himself mumbling over and over again. He jumped as a pair of arms circled his back and pulled him close to the well fit form of Kevin. Edd looked up to the smirk looking down at him. "Oh... Th-thank you." Edd sniffed and smiled, leaning his head on the shoulder offered.

"Yeah yeah, dork." Mumbled the sweat suit covered form as he patted the now still back awkwardly. He released the slim body which leaned back against the desk, blushing a bit. "Y'know, Double D, you really don't need to go through with the bet. If Dorky gets mad, tell him to bring his shit to me. I don't wanna see you get hurt for some money."

Biting at his lip, Edd shook his head a bit. "I really don't want to end this just yet..." He looked up to the concerned green eyes and huffed a bit. "I'm not going to give into those bullies." A slight pause and an unsure look from Kevin made the long haired teenager rub his injured hand. "U-Unless it get's worse than this."

Looking to the painfully discolored flesh on Double D's hand, Kevin made horrified face. "Holy crap! You need to go to the nurse!"

"You forget that I help out a lot there." Edd reminded the young man who watched him. "I don't think it's anything too bad... Just a bit of bruising..." He showed this by flexing his hand a twitch, wincing a bit. "I-I'll be sure to keep an eye on it."

Huffing a bit and shaking his head, Kevin crossed his arms. "Be sure you do, dork."

Humming an affirmative, Edd noted the paperwork under his hand and raised an eyebrow curiously. "What's this?"

"Oh, just some work for Health class. I gotta grade some of the tests."

Gathering his bag and the paper, Edd smiled and made his way over to the taller of the two. "P-Perhaps I can help? For helping me?"

Eying the sincere young man, Kevin shrugged a bit. "Sure, why not? Let's stop by the cafeteria first though, I need something to replace that pizza you made me drop." Seeing the small frown, the redhead grinned and nudged Edd with his elbow. "Cheer up dork, I was kidding."

Edd laughed a bit and nodded, moving a bit of hair behind his left left ear.

Better? I certainly hope so! As always, I adore reviews, especially constructive ones and silly ones. Chapter five is going to be started soon enough, look for it in the near-ish future!

* * *

PS: As a final note in this chapter, I'm going to be working on a Camp Lazlo fic soon. I adore Edward/Lazlo and I blame the artist hot-choc on Deviant Art for it. Seriously, I never really liked _anything _that had to do with Camp Lazlo, except the show. Come to think of it, I never was a fan of male slash until I stumbled upon their work. Huh, weird. Anyway! Go check it out! The design they gave Edward and Lazlo (their human forms that is) are what I'm going to be using more or less.


	5. Chp 5: Look Me In The Eds And Say That

Wow, I deeply apologize to anyone who enjoys reading this story. Laziness as well as a chaotic life of school assignments and work has forced me into a writing remission. Thankfully though, all of your reviews as well as making me feel good about the story, made me feel horribly guilty for not writing. So, here's chapter five. A short little thing, but hopefully a good springboard for my writing juices to get flowing again. Expect a better chapter next time.

* * *

**Chapter 5: Look Me In The Eds And Say That**

Seething anger rushed through his body as he watched the serene view unfold before his very eyes. Wasn't it just a few short years ago that they were plotting to shoot Ed at him out of a cannon? They even tried to steal from him! And yet, there they were, acting like old chummy chums that had been the best of friends that anyone could have.

Letting a growl from his throat, his chocolate brown eyes watched on.

The two had just arrived at the school, early once again. Kevin had insisted that after the first day of bullying he would take Edd to school upon request; and since it was snowing, the latter of the two felt it would be a good day to accept the offer.

"Watch for that ice." The redhead mumbled absently as he navigated around the black-ice under his car carefully to the trunk. He glanced over quickly to see the cross dressed youth uneasily moving to his side. Snapping his eyes back to the still closed hatch, he pressed the small black locking device attached to his keys.

Edd smiled thankfully when he was handed his bag, then shouldered it with a light word of gratitude.

Grunting lightly in response, Kevin slammed the trunk shut, glancing to the feminine features worn by the black haired teenager. "How's the jaw feeling?" Referring to the recent injury Edd had suffered under the hand of his normal tormentors.

Touching the once deeply bruised jaw line, Edd smiled a bit. "It's feeling much better today. I guess I should pay more attention during dodgeball."

"No, Willard's just a dick." Responded the football player as he adjusted his backpack a bit, walking with Edd to the main entrance to the school. He never liked the blond, even if he was on the football team. He was the guy who was always gunning for his position, always trying to point out Kevin's mistakes in hope to get a chance to be the star. Willard and his friends were infamous around the school's students for their forceful bullying. To the teachers though, who never were around to actually witness anything, saw them as wonderful students and a credit to their school's athleticism.

"Kevin! That's a terrible thing to say..."

Glancing to his companion, the young man in the red hat sighed. "Always the compassionate one, huh dork?" Noting the light blush, he continued his thought. "Willard's always been a dick. He's a selfish bastard." Frowning even more and crossing his arms, Kevin growled. "He picks on you and all the others kids who don't defend themselves. I swear, if I ever see him doing it, I'm laying him out." He punctuated by shaking his fist.

Eddy, meanwhile, huffed, looking down at Ed, the tall young man picking at the clovers littering the ground among them. "Ed!"

Looking up, cheerful green eyes focused on the short teenager. "Yes Eddy?"

Slipping off of the fence, Eddy shoved his hands into his pockets, glaring at the door to the school. "Double D has been taken from us by the enemy."

"Oh no Eddy! We gotta go get him!" Jumping up, now standing almost two heads taller than Eddy, Ed clenched his fists, holding them up to his chest. "Double D doesn't know how to fight zombies!"

Pausing a brief moment in confusion, the brown haired scam artist coughed lightly. "Right Lumpy, zombies." Gripping the ever present green jacket covering the redhead, Eddy forcefully yanked him down to his level. "This is what we're gonna do..." He began to whisper to Ed, a determined look on the taller boy's long face.

Lunch had rolled around during the middle of the day, providing the teenagers of the school a very much welcomed break from class. Eddy had made sure to make it into the cafeteria as fast as he could, claiming a table along with Ed. When they spotted their black haired friend, they flagged him down.

"Oh, thank you for finding such a nice spot." Edd commented as he set his tray down, carefully smoothing out the long skirt covering his legs before sitting.

Raising an eyebrow, the tanned teenager scoffed a bit. "Yeah, nice spot, uh huh. Say Double D. You don't think you're getting a little too good at dressing like that?" He motioned a bit to the outfit Edd had picked out for that day. "I mean, you picked all this out right?" A nod indicating that, yes, in fact he did. "Yeah... Well..." Focusing back to his food, Eddy frowned. "Don't get in too deep?"

"And what's that supposed to imply Eddy?" Asked the eloquent protege in an annoyed toned. Was he insinuating something beyond the bet that _he _wanted to be finished so badly?

Puffing a bit of the chocolate brown bangs from his face, the shortest of the three friends poked the questionable food around on his plate. Narrowing his eyes, he looked to Edd. "I'm just saying you're getting kind girly Sockhead!"

Crossing his arms over his blouse covered chest. The faint slate blue fabric matched well to the long, navy blue jacket he wore, the soft fabric reaching down to his knees. A skirt rested a bit low on his hips, a thin white fabric covering his long legs. His usual ankle boots held to his feet securely. "Nonsense! I'm just making the best of this situation _you _got me into _Eddy_!" Edd could feel his cheeks beginning to burn in anger.

"Yeah whatever." Grumbled Eddy as he began to stab angrily at his food with the safety spork.

Forcefully pulling the simple brown paper bag open, the long haired young man pulled out a large, neon green apple, fiercely taking a large mouthful of its sour flesh in a single bite.

"Geeze Dork, you a little hungry?" Came the sly remark. Three heads spun around to spot the commenter. Pulling a few fingers through the bright read hair exposed to the air of the lunch room, Kevin smirked towards Edd.

"Whaddya want _Kevin_?" Eddy nearly spat turning around fully.

Replacing his dark red cap once more, the football player glanced over to the shortest of the three then let his deep green eyes rest back on the cross dressed teenager. He reached into his back pocket, producing a small card with stylized lettering in the center, offering it to Edd with a slightly flushed frown.

"What's this Kevin?" Asked Edd glancing briefly at the card before Eddy snatched it from his slim fingers.

Crossing his arms over his strong chest, the quarterback looked to the three trouble makers of his neighborhood. The brown haired scam artist was looking over the information with a wide smirk, the two taller teenagers looking over his shoulders to glance at the information.

"You're actually inviting us?" Eddy asked skeptically. "What's the catch?"

"The catch, Dorkey, is either you come or you don't." Kevin stated a bit coldly. Turing his attention to the brainy boy in drag, he watched him for a few moments as his blue eyes read over the information. After a full week of dressing as such, the black haired teenager had grown accustomed to the feeling of it. Unfortunately, the rest of the football team didn't seem to think so when he happened to mention it to Rolf while in the locker rooms. Even after calmly explaining it was due to a bet, the rowdy teens saw little difference. It riled Kevin up so much. So what if some guy was dressing like a chick? Who cared? Didn't they have more important things to deal with in their lives? Besides, the dork didn't look so bad in it... Th-That is compared to someone like Johnny or Rolf or something!

Red bloomed along Edd's pale cheeks, his blue eyes looking up at Kevin's green. "Is something the matter Kevin?" Asked the meek voice, snapping the jock out of his thoughts, making him shake his head quickly.

"I-It's nothin' Dork!" Huffing and pointing to the card, he frowned. "Well? Movie marathon, tonight, my house. You three comin'?"

"Yeah yeah Square Chin, we'll make it." Eddy said dismissively. Turning back to his food, the short young man snickered a bit. "Maybe we can get Sockhead here to take another bet. Right Ed?" The two snickered as the subject of their conversation glanced back over his shoulder at Kevin's retreating form, heading in the direction of Nazz.

Taking another bite into his apple while pushing a bit of his inky black hair behind an ear, Edd hid a small smile, a bit unsure of its origin.

School had ended and students were nearly pouring out of the double doors of the large brick school. Many rushed to their cars, trucks, bicycles or various other modes of transportation. Off to the side of the stairs leading to the sidewalk circling the parking lot, stood Edd, leaning against the cool brick of the building. A small book rested in his delicate hands, his deep blue eyes which rested behind new glasses scanning the words intently.

Occasionally he would look up to see if his ride home, Kevin, was anywhere close by. Assuming he had work to do in the PE department, he decided to pass the time by reading up on the new theories involved with quantum physics. A fascinating subject to the teen. So preoccupied with the words, he failed to notice the two bodies nearing him from his front.

It wasn't until a pair of hands gripped his upper arms, lifting him into the air and over a strong shoulder.

"S-Stop! What in heaven's name are you doing?!" Screamed Edd as he flailed in the vice-like grip.

Eddy stepped into his field of vision, a frown on his feature. "We're rescuing you Double D." Crossing his arms as they walked, the short tempered loudmouth glared up to his long haired friend. "Me and Ed think you're spending way too much time with that jerk Kevin."

Halting his struggle, the slender waif looked to Eddy with a disbelieving stare. Suddenly, his face reddened. "Is _that _what this... this _kidnapping_ is about?!" Edd shouted angrily. Snapping his attention to the tall figure holding him over his shoulder, he gripped the arm around his midsection. "Ed, Put. Me. Down."

Even if he was a little thick, the redhead knew when not to push the brainiac of their group. Ed gently set him on the snow laden pavement of the sidewalk they walked upon, Edd placing his hands on his hips as he glared back and forth at the two.

"C'mon Double D. Kevin _is _a jerk. Don't you remember all those times he made us look like idiots?" Eddy stated, keeping his arms firmly crossed. "We're doing it for your safety stupid! Look'it you! You're turning into a girl!"

Looking down to himself briefly, then back up to his thickheaded _friend_, Edd frowned even more. "You're the one who talked me into this _Eddy_!" He tugged lightly on the fabric hugging his chest. "You're the one who wanted the money from this bet so badly! So if anyone is to blame, it's you!"

"Oh, so now it's my fault huh? Don't blame your enjoyment outta this crap on me Sockhead." Eddy motioned to the clothing flippantly. "And look, Kevin's getting to you. He's making you act like an ass for no reason!"

Edd nearly opened his mouth to say something but snapped it shut. His fists shook in rage as he stood rigidly in place. "I refuse to speak to you if you're going to act like this, Eddy." The long haired teen spoke in a low, shaky voice.

Turing on a heel, the slim figure began to walk towards the cul-de-sac, away from the two in the snow.

"D-Double D!" Ed called, ready to give chase.

"Leave him alone Ed." Eddy growled, stepping beside the broad young man. "If the princess wants to act like that, let'em." Turing, the brown haired teen began to head home, taking a much longer route than usual.

Looking back and forth between the two, Ed sighed softly and began to follow Eddy, slumped over slightly.

* * *

**A/N: **Oh goodness! A fight! Once again, I know, it's nothing real special, but I'm hoping I've made a few strides towards better writing. I promise it wont be as long as a wait for the next chapter to be up.

I would also like to add that for some reason, this was a pain in my ass to write for some reason, the beginning mainly. I'd say I rewrote it like... I dunno, four-ish times.

Next chapter! A bunch of movies, a confession, and a hug or two! Chapter Six! Fly By the Seat of Your Ed, coming at you soon! (Hopefully/Probably)


	6. Chp 6: Fly by the Seat of your Ed

Wow... A little over a year later and I FINALLY get around to finishing up the half-baked 6th chapter of this thing. Now, I know a lot of you are probably wondering exactly why I never seem to update this or any of my other stories. Well, life isn't as kind as I would wish it was and thus school, work, and various obligations as well as good ol' fashion laziness kept me from doing much of any writing. Thankfully though, I think I might of found a nice little routine to do some short spurts of writing here and there; certainly I won't say you should expect another chapter up in any brief time, but be assured it will be worked on from time to time.

Now that the waiting is over... BUM BUM BUUUUUUM! Chapter 6: Fly by the Seat of Your Ed!

Edit: Had to fix a chunk of dialogue due to them talking about the bet as if it was going to be over after only a few days.

* * *

**Chapter 6: Fly by the Seat of Your Ed**

Cold wind whipped his slightly shaggy bright red hair as he looked around the front of Peach Creek High School. Kevin, the star quarterback of the school sighed in frustration as his deep blue eyes searched the now empty parking lot for the person he was supposed to give a ride to.

"Well dork, if you're here, I'm sorry, but I don't have all day." Huffing once more, the strong young man slipped into his sleek red car and sped away from the school.

Cruising down the street leading to the cul-de-sac, he glanced to his left, spotting the stooped form of his would-be passenger. Frowning and pulling into his home's driveway, Kevin stepped out of the car, closing and locking it in one swift movement, then made his way along the smooth sidewalk to the trudging body.

"Thanks for the warning Double Dork. You could've just told me you weren't going to get a ride." Stated the redhead in a slightly frustrated tone. When no response came from the pale figure, he tilted his head a little. "Double D?" He watched the slender, shaking body stop in front of him. His eyes traveled the form, Edd's hands were balled up into fists at his sides. Light sniffles made Kevin start a bit, his hands quickly reaching to the thin shoulders. "Whoa whoa! You okay Double D?" One of his hands quickly and gently took the boy's chin lifting it up carefully, worried that it may be injured again. No bruises, no cuts, not even blood.

Tears flowed from Edd's light blue eyes and down the smooth cheeks, his slightly reddening eyes looking up now at Kevin. "Eddy and I fought." He croaked out, raising a his coat sleeve covered arm to wipe the tears away. Sniffing a bit, he saw the broader teenager give a heavy sigh of relief, shaking his head.

"You really had me scared there for a second, dork. I thought I was going to have to whoop some ass." Pausing, he peeked up at the now slightly smiling face.

"Thank you for your concern Kevin, but..." Wiping an eye again with his palm, he sighed. "I feel terrible."

Putting his hands into his pockets, Kevin rocked on his feet a little, glancing over his shoulder as Edd trailed off in his speech. Looking back to the visibly weakened form, he moved closer, putting an arm around the frail shoulders. "C'mon, let's go inside, it's getting cold."

"O-Okay..." Edd mumbled softly, being led inside Kevin's house without protest.

After slipping their shoes off at the front door, the meek youth looked around Kevin's well kept house. The living room was painted a light pastel yellow, a large, well worn couch in the center facing a large, slim television. Between the two, a dark wooded coffee table held various car magazines and several remotes.

"Somethin' to drink?" Asked the taller of the two, passing into the kitchen.

"No thank you Kevin." Mumbled the feminine teenager as she moved into the living room, meekly taking a spot on the old couch, sinking in slightly. His blue eyes curiously scanned the area, looking out the large window, smiling a bit to himself as fresh snow began to fall. Blue fabric rested in his hands as he fumbled with the shirt covering his thin frame, his thoughts lost to the view of the white mist of snow.

So lost was Edd, that he failed to hear the soft shuffling of feet against carpet behind him. Kevin grinned to himself as he plopped onto the couch heavily, the movement causing the light young man to bob up, going slightly off balance. A light 'eep' made the redhead chuckle slightly. "Whatcha lookin' at dork?"

"Oh, just the snow." Mumbled the waif as he leaned back against the couch.

Sipping the can of soda in his hand, Kevin nodded a bit with a glance outside, his free hand snatching the remote. "Feeling a little better?"

"Mm, a little... Eddy just made me very frustrated..." Edd smiled. "Thank you." The large television flickered to life, a football game of some sort snagging the jock's attention for a moment. It wasn't until he glanced slightly to his left to look at the girly teen thoughtfully. "W-What?"

"I was just think'n... Was it about the bet?"

Edd offered a small nod as he fixed his long skirt absently. "It was... Eddy says that dressing up like this... And enjoying it isn't good for me. I believe he thinks that it will lead me to do other things that society finds immoral which is just ludicrous... Though I must admit that I'm surprised I've actually gone through with this thus far." He noticed Kevin nod with a small smirk out of the corner of his eye. "But... I'm not sure what I'm going to do when it's finished..."

"Whatcha mean?" Asked the more muscular of the two. At the lack of a response, he glanced to his left once more to see Edd blushing as his eyes stared at his fists gripping the skirt.

"I-I... I'm not sure if I want to go back to dressing the way I did before." The intelligent teenager nearly whispered as he looked up. "Somehow... I feel that dressing like this is a better... Representation of who I am." Looking up, Edd's eyes seemed to shine, one of his hands resting lightly on his chest. "It's like I'm more real than I was before..." Blushing softly, he looked to his host. "Does that sound strange?"

Scratching his slightly scruffy chin, Kevin let out a low chuckle. "Well... A little yeah... But I think I get what you're sayin'."

"Thank you Kevin..." Edd smiled, only to frown. "But what about Eddy? While I may be mad at him right now, I still think of his as a friend."

"What about him?"

Sighing and leaning further back into the soft couch, Double D adjusted his glasses. "I don't want something like this to be what breaks up such a long friendship."

Kevin watched his guest for nearly a full minute. Emotions moved back and forth over the feminine face as the teen seemed to sort through his feelings on the situation. _For being such a smart guy, he sure can be thick._ Thought the quarterback. "Listen, Double D." Blue eyes locked on him. "I'm not gonna tell you what to do or anything, but really, if your friends can't accept you for who you are, what kinda friends are they?" Sipping his drink, the young man shrugged. "Dorky needs to understand that you're not his slave or whatever, you're your own person." Rubbing his head, the young man leaned his head back. "Man... This really isn't my department or anything... Nazz is better at this mumbo jumbo... But I mean like... Don't worry about what he thinks. Be who you want to be." Seeing the bespectacled young man's eyes growing wider, the redhead laughed lightly. "Ya only got one life right? No use is trying to be something you're not."

The smaller of the two seemed to mull over the thoughts in his head while absently staring at Kevin who only grew more and more unsure of his words as each moment passed by.

"L-Like I said Double D, I'm not too good at thi-"

"You're right." Interrupted Edd. His stoic face broke into a wide smile. "You are certainly wiser than you think, Kevin."

Kevin laughed lightly as he rubbed the back of his head. "Well, I do what I can." The two smiled at each other before turning their attention to the television before them. A calmness rested between the two as they simply enjoyed each other's company. Adjusting his position to be more comfortable, Kevin stretched out a bit with a yawn. _Wasn't I supposed to do something when I got home?_ He thought as his eyes strayed from the image on the flat screen. Olive colored eyes ran along the wall to look sideways at the kitchen. _Something with food.._ The cogs in his mind began to crank and move as he thought. "Oh hell! The party! I gotta get ready!"

"Oh! Yes!" Sitting up quickly, the slim young man followed his host to the kitchen. "I apologize for getting you sidetracked. Should I assist you?"

"It's not your fault dork but that _would_ be awesome." Reaching for a scribbled note on his fridge, Kevin looked over a rather long list. "Here, read this to me." He instructed as he opened the door to the fridge.

"Of course." Clearing his throat, Edd glanced over the various recipes written down. "Um... Beefy Taco Dip... One pound ground beef, one pound ground turkey, a large onion..." He began, watching Kevin snatch the foods from their spots to be placed on the counter. He slowly went through the ingredients as Kevin pulled them out from their appropriate places.

Each recipe's ingredients were placed upon the kitchen's counters in groups according to their dish before Kevin huffed. "This is going to take some time..." He groaned lightly.

Placing the cooking instructions on the dining table close to him, Edd moved over to an apron hanging on a hook of the pantry door to protect the pristine light blue blouse on his slim chest. "I don't mind helping Kevin. Cooking is very much like chemistry, which I enjoy very much." Tying the apron around his waist, the slim young men moved beside the quarterback, smiling. "It will also help get my mind off too many unpleasant topics."

Smirking, Kevin nodded to his slightly younger friend. "Sure thing, dork." He turned back to his slowly simmering ground turkey for a few moments. The sounds of utensils clacking against pots and pans, sizzling meat and onions being chopped filled the air of the quiet home. _There is something calming about cooking_, Kevin thought though would never, ever admit. He glanced to his right, looking at the shorter teenager chopping the onions for the dip. _Guess he feels the same with chemistry... Man, nerdy people are weird._ As they had been doing more and more recently, Kevin's eyes began to examine Edd. _Who's to say what's weird anymore right? _He smirked looking back to the meat as he began to finely chop it with the plastic spatula. _Never thought I'd be in a kitchen with a guy in drag, preparing food for a party, right?_

"Pardon me Kevin, the onions are ready." Double D mumbled softly, not wanting to break the calm silence of focused effort in the air.

Kevin silently nodded as he shifted out of the way, nodding to the frying pan. Pale hands carefully pushed the onions into the still sizzling meat before replacing the cutting board back onto the counter, moving on to chop up peppers next. Deftly, the redhead reached to the left of the stove, grabbing a couple of different spices, shaking just enough into the cooking food. _Not that that is a bad thing y'know? He's a pretty cool guy when you get to know him._ _Sure, he's not like a lot of my others friends at school, not a partier or anything, he's different, but a good different though._ Replacing the shakers, Kevin moved over to the pantry, pulling out nearly a dozen chip bags and boxes of microwaveable popcorn bags. His eyes glanced over to the stove when he noticed movement. Edd dumped the red peppers into the meat and stirred it around, humming softly with a small smile on his glossed lips. Before Kevin could stop it, the comment leaped from his throat. "You'd make a good mom Double D." He said with a hint of sarcasm and a smirk.

Red raced across the cheeks of the apron wearing boy. "Well, I certainly learned from a very good one." He shrugged slightly. "Though, no matter how feminine I may look, I doubt I could give birth."

Snickering, the broad shouldered young man pulled out various 2-liter soda bottles and stacks of plastic cups. "Good one."

"I try." Edd smiled, glancing back to his host.

It was several hours later before Kevin glanced to the cheesy cat-clock hanging above the window above the kitchen sink. "Looks like it's gettin' close to that time. Go ahead and head home and get cleaned up, I can finish up the pigs."

Finishing the last small hot-dog wrapped up in dough, Edd nodded before pausing. "Would it be acceptable if I were to bring my things over and get cleaned up over here? I'd rather not risk facing Eddy just yet."

"Sure thing buddy." Kevin quipped before grinning. "I wouldn't wanna to run around in the snow in those itty bitty shorts of yours either."

"Th-That's highly inappropriate Kevin!" Blushed the protégé.

"Yeah yeah, jus' get back over here quickly dork." Chuckled the toned teen nearly affectionately as he placed the try with the foodstuffs.

Frowning, Edd huffed lightly and removed the apron, hanging it back up before looking to Kevin who was already heading to the door. "What are you doing?" Asked the slim boy curiously before following.

"Making sure your little buddy doesn't try and bother you on your way to your house." Explained the redhead offhandedly as if it were something that should had already been known. "Can't have you go off and get all worked up all over again when you have to help me finish things up here."

Double D watched his friend for a few moments, a small smile on the pale lips. "Thank you, Kevin."

Hearing the sheer appreciation in the voice caused the flower dusted young man faintly blush before looking off to the side. "Yeah sure, just hurry, I don't have all night to stand here." Watching the skirt clad teen cross the cul-de-sac, Kevin sighed before rubbing his forehead. "Dork…"

It wasn't long before Edd was finished with his quick trip. He stepped into Kevin's home once more, brushing the falling snow off of his shoulders and out of his long, black hair. "Kevin?" He called, slowly making his way further in.

"In the kitchen!" Called the deep voiced young man.

Curiosity pulled at Double D as he heard another voice with Kevin's. He shouldered his backpack a little more securely and approached the warm, delicious smelling kitchen. Sitting on the counter was Nazz, chuckling as she sipped on a soda. "Oh, hello Nazz, how are you?"

"I'm doing great. I hear you've been a little down though." Commented the blond as she slipped off of the smooth granite top. Kevin glanced over his shoulder as he pulled the steaming fresh pigs-in-blanket out of the oven, a disapproving look in his blue eyes. Noting the attention from her classmate, the young woman grinned. "But that's why we're having a party right? To have fun!" Throwing an arm around the petite shoulders, she sipped her soda again, looking to the backpack. "What's that?"

"I was just going to go get cleaned up. I didn't wish to have to walk back here in my pajamas." He mumbled, glancing to the sweater and pajama bottoms on the girl.

"You're such a girl." Nazz chuckled before patting his shoulder. "Go get cleaned up. You better'uv brought something cute to wear. I don't get to see you being all cute and stuff too often, even in school."

She watched the feminine boy quickly make his way into the bathroom before turning the football player. "So, keeping him all to yourself now?"

Raising an eyebrow, Kevin turned to the blond. "Who said I was doing that? The dork had a rough day so I tried to cheer him up. Got a problem with it?"

"Oh no no, it's just he's so darn cute in those clothes. You need to call me over when he is." Elbowing the fit young man, she snickered. She listened to the sound of the water beginning to run through the pipes in the house as Edd begun his shower. "Guy's got it rough though. Several bullies and now Eddy's being a supreme jerk to him?" A look from Kevin caused her to laugh lightly. "Right right, more so than usual."

"Double Dork is pretty tough though. He didn't let the guys get to him too much. His argument with Eddy though… I think he's pretty tender from that though. Makes sense though, they've been friends forever."

Tapping the counter, Nazz sipped the soda again. "Guess you're just gonna have to protect him then, huh?"

"… Right." Giving the short girl a sideways glance, he washed his hands, not sure if he was liking the implications behind those words.

Inside the bathroom, Edd blushed softly as he was sure to shower quickly. Showering in someone else's bathroom was always unnerving. There was the feeling that they would walk through the door at any moment. Thankfully though, it was surprising well kept. Too many times had he had to make the excursion into a friend's bathroom only to be horrified by the lack of upkeep.

He hummed to himself softly as he rinsed the soap suds off of his pale, slim figure. The hot water felt nice after being out in the snow; it was his favorite part of winter in fact. Taking the womens shaving cream in hand; he sprayed a fair amount in the other, running it over his legs. A quick pass of his razor over his legs, arms and various other places made him feel quite refreshed after such a long day. He then proceeded to scrub his hair with Jimmy's recommended shampoo. It wasn't whatever cheap brand he grabbed off of the shelf quickly anymore. This expensive brand was aiding his hair in being more presentable then it use to be. No more were there tangles and knots galore in the frizzy, matte hair. Now it shined in inky black waves, its natural curliness making it appear constantly wind-swept.

Once Edd was satisfied with his cleanliness, he exited the bathroom, tugging at the black boy shorts hugging his round bottom. Nazz turned her attention in the direction of the living room and grinned as she watched the still damp boy timidly pad in. "Double D… If I really didn't know better… I'd swear you were a _really _adorable girl."

Edd blushed deeply and looked to Kevin who scratched at his scruffy chin slightly, looking to the side, his eye drifting from the plate of meaty confections to the exposed left shoulder of the young man, his chocolate brown sweater a few sizes too large. "Th-Thank you… I-I think…" He mumbled before approaching Kevin. "Is there anything else that needs to be done?"

"N-Not really." Kevin mumbled, looking down into the glasses covered blue eyes. Nazz was right; he really did look like a girl. It would have been even more accurate to just call him a slightly masculine looking girl. Edd bobbed his head in understanding before following Nazz back into the living room to wait on the couch for the rest of the guests. Kevin's eyes unconsciously followed the round backside in boy shorts before snapping shut._ Get a hold of yourself Kev, it's not what you think it is._ He told himself before heading towards the bathroom.

A quick shower later, Kevin sighed, stepping out in a pair of simple shorts and a t-shirt. The water helped clear his mind of errant, weird thoughts. _I just need to get me a nice girlfriend. I've been without one for far too long._ He reasoned as he stepped out into the living room.

"N-Nazz! P-Please desist!" Cried Edd in embarrassment from under the stronger girl. One hand was on his exposed shoulder while the other was running up and down a perfectly smooth leg, threatening to explore further.

Kevin watched in complete confusion and shock as he looked at the red, panting face of the young man below him.

"But your legs are so smooth! It's amazing!" Nazz all but cackled.

The freshly showered teen looked down as Edd's head craned back to look at him upside down. "K-Kevin! Please!" He whimpered, attempting to crawl away from the girl.

Blood rushed into the tall boy's cheeks as he easily pulled the girl off of Edd. "Now Nazz, sexual harassment isn't allowed tonight." Kevin mumbled sitting her to the other end of the couch.

Edd panted lightly as he adjusted his glasses and sweater. The young man hadn't expected to have been nearly assaulted be the girl when she began to simply ask about his methods of pulling off certain looks. The next thing he knew, a hand was on his leg and he was under the blond.

"But Kev! His legs are so smooth, you gotta feel them!" Cried the rowdy girl, pointing at the legs in question.

"No," Was Kevin's simple response as he heavily flopped onto the couch between them.

A few moments passed as some cartoon played on the television.

"Th-Thank you Kevin…" Mumbled the inky haired teen as he coughed softly.

A few hours passed and the guests arrived. Snacks were consumed and movies began to play. Nazz had claimed a spot on the couch, wrapped up in a blanket as she snickered at the cheesy 'scary' movie playing. Rolf had taken a spot on the floor beside Jimmy and Sarah closer to the television, Johnny and Plank in a sleeping bag a little further off to the side, closer to a disgruntled Eddy and oblivious Ed, wrapped up in the cheap, latex based zombies. Double D and Kevin sat against the couch near Nazz's feet. The football played assumed the pale boy wanted to be near him to deter the fuming scam artist on the other side of the room. He didn't mind though, it was kind of nice to be needed for protection.

Beside him, Edd sat comfortably against the couch, his eyes drifting from the movie to Eddy to Kevin every now and then. Occasionally, Kevin would glance down as him, smirking a bit before tossing some popcorn in his mouth.

Meanwhile, Eddy glared daggers into the television, focusing his rage into it as he sipped on the diet soda in hand. His brown eyes flicked over to the jock beside Double D, fresh waves of loathing roaring through him. _Lookit 'em, you'd think they were about to jump each other's bones any second!_ He frowned and raised his soda to his lips again before frowning and looking into the empty plastic cup. "Ed! Soda!" He thrust the cup before the hypnotized teen's eyes. After a few brief moments, he glared down at the fuzzy headed comic geek. "Ed!" He tapped the cup against the solid skull of his strong patsy, a fierce frown on his face.

"Pipe down loser! We're watching a movie!" Kevin snarled, his glare trained on the equally host of the party. "Get your own damn soda." The shaggy headed scam artist paused for a moment before clicking his teeth in annoyance and stalking away into the kitchen. Kevin sighed before leaning back against the couch once again, his eyes following Edd's hand as it reached over into the popcorn bowl he held. He looked to the young man who had a slight disapproving look on his features, causing the taller teen to lean closer. "He was being a jerk… And loud!" He whispered to the long haired genius.

"This is true, but, you need to be a little nicer." Huffed Edd as he placed a few piece of popcorn in his mouth, Kevin gawking slightly at him.

"That was nice!" He whispered and poked at the sweater covered ribs to emphasize his point. An unexpected result occurred, causing the androgynous boy to give a short squeak of surprise, drop his pieces of popcorn, and hop away from the offending digit, all at once. The two looked to each other, Kevin with a sly grin on his features while Edd blushed lightly, covering the ticklish area.

Meanwhile, Nazz snickered from her spot on the couch, long abandoning the movie in favor of watching the two near her feet and their little dealings with each other. Edd had begun to scold Kevin for tickling him, Kevin muttering an apology.

"Yeah yeah Dork. I didn't mean to." He chuckled before waving him closer. "Get back over here, it's cold y'know?" He noticed the surprised and slightly concerned look on the glasses clad features. Behind him, he could feel Nazz's sly gaze and grin burrowing into the back of his head.

Edd coughed lightly. "I-I suppose you are correct." He mumbled before scooting closer across the several layers of blankets to sleep on under them, leaving a few inches between himself and Kevin.

Closer to the television, Rolf's beast of a form turned around, frowning towards the two young men against the couch. "Rolf demands silence to view this whatchama-doohicky film!" He thundered, his fist thumping the floor solidly in his ever so volatile rage. "Even half-full Ed-boy knows this!" He continued, motioning to Ed who sat in a small puddle of his own drool which had caused Eddy to retreat to the nearby armchair.

Double D muttered a light apology as he yawned softly, leaning to the side to become more comfortable. He felt his newly found cushion, Kevin, stiffen and look down quickly to figure out what was happening. Edd laughed nervously before leaning up to inform his friend of his need for sleep without bothering the others.

"Dork…" Murmured the redhead softly without a single movement to move Edd. Taking this as an acceptance of their position, the long haired teen yawned once more, Kevin's warm arm shakily wrapping around his waist to keep him from falling over. The weight of Double D's head on his shoulder seemed to heat up the taller boy, making him flush even worse. _You're gonna get me in trouble Dork._ He thought absently as he heard Nazz let out a soft giggle.

The night continued on, several movies being played before the entire room had fallen silent as the quests slipped into sleep. Only one was still awake. Kevin sighed, turning off the DVD played and television, throwing the room into a deep blackness, illuminated in soft silver light by the bright winter moon outside and nearby streetlamps. He looked to the quietly snoozing teen against him, a smirk whispering across his lips at the calm expression under the glasses. _Well Dork, it's time for bed and you ain't goin' in mine._ He spoke internally as he extracted himself from Edd's loose grip. He chuckled softly at a light murmur from the feminine boy as he was laid down carefully, the jock removing the glasses carefully. For a moment, he watched the sleeping figure. Bathed in the light of the full moon, the slim body seemed to slip between genders, strangely enough. Kevin watched in some kind of morbid curiosity as his eyes seemed to focus between the young man and the adorable girl before him. _You're like some kinda trap laid for some unsuspecting guy, y'know? You look like the mousy kind of librarian girl you'd never expect to be so cute, but you're a guy…_ Shaking his head roughly, Kevin sighed heavily. _I need sleep more than I thought I did._ He stood up after covering Double D with a light comforter, glancing back only once before making his way upstairs to his room. "Dork…" He mumbled to himself in the dark.

* * *

I doubt that was worth much of a wait, but I did put some effort into this one. There are probably a fair amount of mistakes here and there, rest assured I'll be doing some editing within the next couple of days. Also, feel free to tell me if something doesn't sound quite right. I had to work a large amount of rust out of the ol' gears to start thing ideas a'flowin'.

The exciting next chapter! Chapter 7: Seeing Ed to Ed! Will Eddy and Edd make up and what's this thing Kevin wants to ask Edd? Find out when... Well, whenever I get around to doing it!

Author Epiphany: I think as I write this, I keep imagining Edd looking more and more feminine...

Another Epiphany: Kevin is hardcore tsundere... And I can't believe I'm actually using that word.


	7. Chp 7: Seeing Ed to Ed

Holy cow! Another chapter already knocked out!? How the heck did I do that?! Seriously though, I think that last chapter just really messed with me for some reason. Not only did it kinda start out chunky, but it was kinda of a weird moment in the relationship for Kevin and Edd for me. They were in a situation where things could have gone really crazy and frisky, or stayed on the same path they've been going and I wasn't sure which way to take it. Now that that chapter is out of the way, this chapter came to me _much much much_ more smoothly. I'm glad to see some people are still reading this. **Thanks to _koolone33_ and _Krysterr_ for sticking with my crappy ability to update and _puretsubasa_, welcome to the fandom, enjoy your stay!**

Now, the moment you've all been waiting for! The super speedy Chapter 7: Seeing Ed to Ed!

* * *

**Chapter 7: Seeing Ed to Ed**

Light, probably the second most annoying thing to wake up to besides a blaring alarm clock, though just as annoying. Bright orange hair shifted against a cream colored pillow, bathed in equally orange light. Kevin growled lightly, hoping that it was enough to scare the sun back under the horizon. His half hearted defiance of the light seemed to do very little in terms of darkening the niggling brightness. Frustrated with the glaring brightness attempting to bypass his eyelids, he rolled onto his back roughly, shaking the bed with the rushed movement.

In that brief moment though, several things came to Kevin's half-asleep mind's attention. His arm collided with something unusually hard which lay under his covers, an arm was around his waist, and whatever it was under his covers make a soft if sleepy sounding 'eep' noise.

_Oh damn._ He groaned internally before gripping the edge of the covers lying across his bare chest. He jumped in slight shock as the now painfully obvious figure sat up under the covers. He slowly lifted the cover just enough to glance under it. His eyes connected with one of the _last _person he wanted in his bed. A sleepy blue eye looked down at his, the other being rubbed by a few fingers, the rest of the hand obscured by a brown sweater sleeve. There, in a sleepy stupor, sat Edd on his knees, his hair even more tussled than normal. _Yeah… Damn…_ Kevin sighed, releasing the blanket, letting it fall again, obscuring his view of the androgynous teen sharing the bed with him.

Nearly a full minute passed with complete silence. Kevin simply stared at the ceiling while Edd got his bearings, he assumed. "Kevin?"

"Mm?" The quarterback grunted as he watched the tall lump in the bed shrink, feeling the smaller body slide up the sheets until his head poked out of the comforter.

"Why am I in your bed?" Edd mumbled sleepily as he rubbed his eyes with a yawn, one of the long sleeved arms reaching for a pair of glasses resting on a small nightstand beside the bed.

"Really wish I knew." Kevin sighed. "You were downstairs last night when I came up here."

Blushing softly, the black haired teen slid the covers off of himself and hopped out of bed. "I-I apologize Kevin. I believe I became disoriented at some point last night when trying to use the restroom. I assume I ended up coming here thinking it was my room." He laughed nervously as he pushed the black locks from his face as the shirtless young man watched him blankly. "I-I will make some breakfast as apology. Excuse me!" He mumbled quickly before all but bolting out of the room.

Kevin continued to stare where the teen once stood, a murky mind rolling a thought around. _I think I figured out what to call that crazy thing he's got going on with that hair… _Thought the teen as he himself rolled out of bed. _Permanent sex-hair._ He chuckled to himself, feeling quite clever.

After a quick stop by the bathroom, Kevin made his way downstairs, attempting to figure out his reason for not being quite as disturbed about waking up with a guy in his bed as he figured he should. As he reached the bottom step near the kitchen though, enchanting smells of sweet, syrupy pancakes drowned all thoughts, dead and forgotten.

"That _would_ be a little weird." Chuckled Nazz as she sat on the counter, a pair of extra syrup-soaked waffles on a plate in hand. She placed another bite of the fluffy confections into her mouth and grinned. "So when are you coming over to _my_ house to make breakfast huh?"

Blushing lightly, Edd laughed before carefully placing another pancake onto a small stack of them on a plate already. He opened his mouth to apologize, only to notice the house's normal resident nearly stumble into the kitchen, a t-shirt now covering his naked torso. The petite teen's face reddened worse, causing him to silently turn back to his cooking.

"Good morning Kev," Greeted the blond girl from the countertop. "Sleep well?" Nazz asked with a grin.

"Peachy," He mumbled before grabbing a couple of pancakes for himself. He patted the head of the cook as he passed by to grab the nearby bottle of maple deliciousness. "Thanks dork."

"O-Of course Kevin." Edd squeaked out, doing his best to try and curl around the stove he cooked over, his face still quite red. His eyes slowly moved to Nazz who was pulling a few more pancakes onto her plate.

The muscular young man blankly worked at his pancakes, his attention going to the emptied living room. "Everybody went home already?"

"Yup, most of them were gone by the time I woke up." Wiping her mouth with a napkin, Nazz chuckled lightly. "Well, most of them woke up to Rolf freaking out quite nicely when he found Jimmy nearly lying on top of him. The little guy has always kinda looked up to the big guy." Recalled the girl in sweats as she tapped her fork against her lips lightly.

"Not to mention that he's always been a little…" Kevin ended his sentence with a flip of his limp wrist. "Y'know?"

At the stove, Edd blushed lightly, his stomach twisting at the less-than-kind sounding words. He placed a few more pancakes on a plate for himself and shuffled over to the table. Silently he ate his breakfast, the two slightly older teens enjoying their own food. _I believe I might have upset Kevin more than I thought I did. Surely he isn't the kind of person to normally say something like that._ Edd's blue eyes peeked up at the groggy redhead. _Not after the kindness he has shown me, a young man who… Dresses in… women's clothing._

From her perch on the counter, Nazz looked to the dazed face of her best friend and back to the boy-shorts and sweater clad teen. She could nearly feel the strangeness in the air. "I don't think it's that bad. He's just an affectionate little thing." Hopping down, she placed her dishes in the sink. "Besides, from what _I_ heard, he wasn't the only one with an unexpected visitor."

The coquettish voice from the tom-boy made Kevin look up with a slight warning in his glare. "What of it?" He huffed. "The dork just got a little lost last night." Beside him, Double D sipped a small glass of orange juice, attempting to cool his warming features. "Who knows what Jimmy's intentions were?"

"I don't think that's the real issue here." Nazz sighed in a serious tone. She leaned forward, placing her hands at the table, leveling her gaze with a now noticeably nervous black haired protégé.

"M-May I help you Nazz?" Edd gulped.

"Yeah, ya can," She began "why the hell didn't you come sleep with me? I would have kept you warm just as well!" The two men looked at her for a few moments, one in shock, the other blankly.

"I… I-I-" Mumbled the glasses wearing male.

"You nearly molested him yesterday. I don't think that's all too safe." Kevin interjected, sipping his orange juice. "Other than that though," He looked to Edd, leveling his fork at him. "You need to try and talk to Dorky today, try and get him to stop being such an ass to you." It was a sore subject, but he was desperate to leave the topic of 'who-slept-with-who' behind.

Edd sighed softly, leaning back in his chair. He looked down to his smooth, pale legs for a few moments, spinning his fork around on the plate. "It would certainly be better than waiting and letting it get worse I suppose." He mumbled, pushing a few errant locks of black hair behind as ear. His eyes flicked to Kevin who seemed to be deep in thought, his eyes focusing on the citrus beverage before him. "Would you have any suggestions on how to deal with it?"

Taking a spot at the table, Nazz nodded. "I think I have a few. The guy has always had something for me right?" The surprise on Edd's face made her smirk. "What? I'mblond, not blind dude; I know he always gets all stupid around me. Anyway, I'll go over and talk to him and stuff, get him warmed up to talking to you."

"Would you really Nazz?" Edd gasped, playing a hand on one of the girls.

"Why not right? If that always fails, I'll drag him back kicking and screaming." The boyish girl gave a thumbs-up and winked.

Nodding, the feminine boy looked to Kevin who had begun to collect the dishes. "Would you mind accompanying me Kevin?"

"What for?" Asked the taller teen as he placed the dishes in the sink, turning to look at the pleading genius. "I m-mean sure I'll do it, but won't that make Eddy not wanna talk?"

Shaking his head, Double D stood. "This argument… From Eddy's point of view that is, is about you and myself spending a lot of time together. I believe Eddy is becoming jealous. You need to be there in case you need to defend yourself." He watched as Kevin began to frown, obviously about to say something cutting, causing him to hold up a finger. "That is if you are well behaved." Edd scolded lightly, stepping closer to the host of the house. His hip cocked slightly to the side, a hand on it while the other was still held up to silence Kevin's harsh comment about the scam artist. "You will only make things worse if you resort to uncivilized methods of communication."

Kevin paused for a few minutes, nearly dumbstruck as he looked at the androgynous teen before him in such a girly pose, blushing while trying to be firm. Was he serious? Did he really _expect_ to be taken seriously? _It's… Kinda… Really cute_, Kevin admitted to himself while keeping a straight face. The thought caused him to turn back towards the sink, a hand rubbing his right temple. "Sure sure." Anything else said was lost on the football player as he stared down at the dishes in the sink, pools of left over syrup dripping from plate to plate. Did he _really_ just admit to himself that a _guy_ was cute? _Well… I mean he doesn't really look like a guy too much. I guess it's okay right? Not… pla… play… plo… Whatever, not gay, right?_

"I believe you're right Nazz… I will have to go back home and get a different set of clothes; all I have with me right now was the skirt I was going to wear today." Edd hummed in thought out loud. Kevin watched Nazz nod a head towards the living room.

"I'll give you a call Kev when I'm about to head back over, be sure you're here to Double D."

"Of course," Edd coughed lightly, the two young men seeing the girl to the door. Once she was gone, Edd began to collect his few things in the living room, his movements a little slower than normal. Kevin had gone back and was cleaning up the kitchen from breakfast silently. The long haired teen sighed to himself, looking at Kevin's t-shirt covered back. _I feel terrible for what happened this morning…_ Standing up, Edd steeled himself, moving towards his target. "Kevin I…" He began, the taller of the two turning around to look slightly down at him. With the blue eyes once again on him, he seemed to shrink slightly, his cheeks blooming in red slightly. "I want to apologize for… For doing what I did… I didn't mean to make you feel uncomfortable… I-I hope you d-" The words halted as Kevin held up a hand, his face still quite serious. "Kevin…"

Sighing, the jock wiped his hands off on a towel draped over his left shoulder. "It really is cool Double D… It just surprised me is all." Stepping closer, he grinned, messing up the long hair. "Just warn me next time you're going to, cool?"

Edd smiled and latched onto the young man in a tight hug, his head nearly nuzzling the sturdy teen's shoulder. "Thank you Kevin! You are a truly wonderful friend!"

The two stood in their embrace, Edd slowly relaxing and leaning into the stronger body. He blushed at the sound at the faster heartbeat he heard thumping softly in the muscled chest. Kevin smirked and allowed one of his arms to go around the teen. _No one's around… It's fine I guess._ He reasoned. "Dork…" He mumbled in a near-affectionate voice, blushing faintly at the light giggle that emitted from the teen against him. _You're way too dangerous Double Dork, _concluded the quarterback as he looked above the long haired head, to the window outside, fresh snow beginning to fall.

Kevin looked back down to the calmed Edd, still quite content on not moving. "So what was it you and Nazz talked about doing with your clothes?" He asked.

Edd blushed as the hum of Kevin's voice roused him from his serene state. "Well…" He began as he released his hold on the teen, the feeling of the redhead's hand sliding against his lower back making him faintly blush worse. He moved over and opened up his bag, producing a rather short, pleated, red and green plaid skirt. "I-I had planned on wearing this with some stockings… B-But Nazz recommended I wear something a little less… 'Showy' as she put it while talking with Eddy who already seems to have problems with my way of dressing."

Still standing near the sink, Kevin chuckled before nodding. "Yeah, whether or not he was the one who wanted you to do this whole thing, he probably would be a little speechless with you in a little thing like that." He laughed louder at the indignant huff he received from the slim teen.

"After all that work of convincing myself that I _could_ wear such a skirt outdoors…" Ruefully, Edd carefully placed the garment back into his bag before standing up and looking to Kevin. "I'll be back soon." He informed before quickly moving out the door, doing his best to jog across the cul-de-sac.

Kevin glanced out the window of his living room, watching the large puffs of air escaping the painfully unathletic boy. While he did seem like the slim, fit figure, it was not secret that Edd was the one out of all of the kids of the neighborhood with the least amount of physical prowess. _Well dork, you've changed one thing in your life, what's one more?_ Grinning to himself, he turned around and went back to his morning chores.

It was near noon when Nazz and Kevin met back up. They were waiting at Double D's door, having ringed the bell some time ago. "Maybe he's showering." Kevin suggested, turning to the slightly shorter girl. He was about to reach for the doorbell once more when the door slowly swung open, a young looking woman yawning lightly, a fuzzy, warm looking terrycloth robe barely hanging on to her healthy form. Both teens were dumbfounded.

"Oh my, hello." Hazel, Edd's mom greeted, blushing softly as she adjusted the soft brown garment. "Eddward did mention that he had friends coming to meet him." Pushing a bouncy, curly lock of platinum blond hair back, she motioned for both of them to enter. "Would either of you like some soothing, hot green tea?"

"N-No thank you ma'am." Kevin gulped. He had only ever seen glimpses of Edd's mom entering the house, but never talked to her, and when he _did_ catch sight of her, she wasn't nearly spilling out of a robe.

Nazz said very little as the woman shuffled off into the kitchen, a pair of frog slippers squeaking light with her movements. As she entered, a crisp, clean looking man emerged, a cup of what was most likely some of the tea mentioned before. He resembled their cross dressing friend only in terms of the messy black hair and collected appearance while his looks were apparently received from his mother.

The tall man glanced over to them, slowly approaching as he sipped his steaming beverage, a newspaper under his other arm. "I assume you're here to see Eddward?" He asked as if evaluating them for some kind of job.

"U-Umm… Y-Yessir." Kevin nodded. He'd never felt such as sense of dread as he did under the cool, calm eye of the short haired man. Nazz could only nod.

Daniel watched them silently, standing before them like some warden as he sipped his tea. "I assume you're aware of his recent… Changes?" He questioned evenly, receiving a pair of quick nods. "And you're aware of the implications this presents to others? The negative light many will put him in?"

"We do sir, in fact, Kevin here has been sure to keep an eye on him during school. He's a popular guy so nobody really messes with him or people he likes." Nazz quickly explained, throwing an arm around the taller teen.

After another, calm sip from his tea, Daniel turned his attention to Kevin. "Kevin, is it? Yes yes, I remember you and your family. Mike and Abby Davids' boy, right?"

"Yessir." Kevin croaked, nearly crumbling under the steely gaze. He could feel the sweat beginning to glide down the back of his neck as the cool blue eyes focused on him.

"My wife and I thank you for watching out for Eddward. He's not the most assertive young man there is." And, for the first time since they saw the man, he gave them a small, very small hint of a smile. "I will be sure to write a sticky note to remind myself to allow you both in our home or often." With that said, he handed Kevin the warm cup and saucer, producing a small pad of yellow post-it notes from one pocket, a pen from the other, quickly jotting a note down and haphazardly sticking it to the nearby closet. Taking his drink back, he nodded to them. "Good day."

Once Daniel had gone back to the kitchen, the two released a breath neither of them noticed they were holding. "That was…" Nazz began.

"Intense…" Kevin mumbled, running a hand through his hair. "It's nice that Double D never inherited that… Power."

The sound of feet descending the stairs caused the two to look up and breathe a sigh of relief at their effeminate friend. He adjusted his glasses as he hopped down the last stair, his hands dusting the tight, slightly flared and faded jeans hugging his slim legs. He glanced up to his friends, noting their ragged expressions. "W-What?"

"I-It's nothing dork, let's get going." Kevin mumbled as he watched the teen placed his feet in a pair of ankle boots.

Once they were outside, Nazz whistled softly as Edd pulled a thick orange hoddie over his slim t-shirt covered frame, a hint of flat belly being flashed. "Lookin' good dude. I especially like the hair pins." She commented, motioning into the multi-colored pins holding back the hair near his left temple, the rest pulled back into a neat bun.

"Th-Thank you Nazz." Mumbled Edd as he produced a small vial of clear lip gloss, carefully applying it to his lips, protecting them from the cold as well as giving them an enticing sheen. "How did Eddy react when you told him about the talk?"

"Well, the little shrimp was about to put up a fight until I explained how _I_ saw it. That is, it being mostly his fault anyway for being a jerk. I also reminded him that he either meets us at the park _or_ we just meet him in his room at our time of choosing." The short haired blond chuckled.

Edd shook his head slightly and sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. "I guess it's now or never."

"You'll do fine dork. You had to have learned _something_ from your dad." Kevin assured the feminine protégé. He looked to Edd with a smirk before noting the curious look.

"My father? What about him?" He asked curiously.

"Uhh… I-It's nothing, don't worry about it."

They reached the small park near the cul-de-sac, once where they had played many times as children, now, especially during winter, it was deserted. Already on one of the swings sat a rather perturbed looking Eddy, his feet kicking ditches into the snow. He looked up as Nazz, Edd and Kevin approached, his eyes glaring at the jock for a moment before looking to Edd's slightly less-than-average outfit. At least it wasn't a skirt. Then he looked to the blond who had stopped some distance away, watching the shortest teen there carefully.

"Hello Eddy." Edd mumbled as he carefully dusted off the swing next to Eddy's. He sat down, now between Eddy and Kevin. "Thank you for showing up."

"Yeah yeah." Eddy grumbled, looking down at the floor. "Here to also tell me that I'm a jerk?" He asked, glancing to Nazz briefly.

Tapping his black boots together, the genius sighed. "Well, yes, unfortunately. You were a jerk yesterday Eddy. You said hurtful things about me and made incorrect judgments on my ability to choose friends." He began. "Kevin has been very kind to me ever since the beginning of this whole ordeal…" He glanced over to the redhead who looked ahead blankly, doing his best to keep his mouth shut.

"Oh and me and Ed haven't? Oh wait, you wouldn't know 'cause you weren't around at all!" Yelled the short teen accusingly.

Noticing the strong teen beginning to tense up, Edd smiled lightly at him before turning back to Eddy. "You are correct Eddy; I have been neglecting you and Ed which I apologize for. I don't want our friendship to end over some silly game, but I do have the right to have other friends, as do you. I will be sure to accompany you on your scams and eat lunch with you, but remember this; I will be spending time with Kevin, Nazz and anyone else of my choosing." Edd said calmly, looking to the slowly calming scam artist.

"Some best friend _you_ are." Eddy grumbled, looking away.

Edd bristled at the accusing sneer. "Friend, yes, slave, no. You are neither my keeper nor my master. I don't point fingers or yell if you decide to go about your own business _Eddy_." He sighed before continuing. "While we can still be friends, you are not in control of who else I am friends with."

Eddy grumbled before turning his head back to look at the holes he had dug in the snow with his shoes. "Fine… So what about this-" He motioned to the female clothing on the teen. "whole thing?"

"In the short amount of time this bet has been going on, I have grown to enjoy dressing like this. I feel that it is a better representation of me as a person." Edd mumbled, looking down to his gently swinging legs. "If you don't agree with it, I am sorry, but I will not change."

Sighing heavily, Eddy looked up to the overcast sky as large, chunky flakes began to drift down. "You're not goin' all weird on me though, are ya?"

Blushing, the inky haired teen shook his head. "No Eddy, I'm still the same old Double D."

"That's all I need I guess. We can't do scams without ya buddy." Eddy sighed once more. "But I'm not saying you were right or I was wrong or anything." He leaned back in his swing, looking to the silent quarterback. "And I still don't like you."

"Feeling's mutual Dorky." Growled Kevin.

Hopping down from the swing, Eddy thrust his hands into his pockets. "Great, now we need you to draw up some plans for an igloo maker Sockhead. Kids'll pay big bucks for a chance to camp out like real Eskimos." One could practically hear the bells of cash registers going off in his head.

"Of course Eddy." Edd laughed softly before sliding off the swing. "I'll meet you and Ed at his place soon enough." Seeing the short youth glance over his shoulder at Kevin, he shrugged.

"Whatever, just get over there in an hour."

Once he was gone, Edd laughed lightly. "That went much better than expected."

"You did great dude! I was expecting some fists to fly from someone, but that was great!" Nazz cheered as if congratulating the slim teen on winning a soccer match, clapping him on the back happily.

Wincing, he thanked the blond before glancing to Kevin who grinned down at him, capturing him around the shoulders with one arm, his other going to give him a light noogy. "Ah! K-Kevin! My hair!"

Kevin laughed loudly. "You're such a girl dork!" He released the teen who carefully fixed the errant strands of hair before turning back to the perpetrator. He huffed, putting his hands on his slim, jean covered hips.

"I'll have you know, it took me approximately fifteen minutes to get my hair like this." Edd huffed again. "Some of us _care _about our appearance." He gave a small smirk to the redhead who raised an eyebrow.

"You got somethin' to say Double Dork?" He taunted, crossing his arms. "You think just 'cause you stood up to little Eddy means you can take me?"

Blushing, the shorter youth charged forward. "I'll show you!"

Nazz watched in rapt pleasure as Edd collided into Kevin, sending them both into the nearly seven inches of snow. She was quite aware the jock was allowing the bookworm to roll him around, grinning when Edd covered the redhead's face in snow.

"That's it dork!" With a simple push, Edd felt himself easily pinned by the large, stronger teen. "Can't move can ya?" Edd frowned as Kevin loomed over him, pinning his arms above his head and legs with his over. "How 'bout this?" Kevin began. "You let me work you out some at the school gym and you tutor me in some math. The teach has really been ridin' me about it and I need some help."

"Me? Try and work out with you? Preposterous."

"C'mon dork, it'll be fun. Plus I'll be getting some extra credit for helping out a… Well a less-than-fit student."

Sighing, Edd looked up at the handsome, grinning young man. "…Fine…" He mumbled, looking off to the side.

"Great! Tomorrow's day one of training. Be prepared." He grinned, lifting the young man out of the snow easily.

"Wonderful… I need to go home and change now though… My jeans are absolutely soaked." Edd groaned lightly before heading back towards the cul-de-sac, followed by Kevin.

Nazz saddled up beside Edd and placed an arm around his waist. "Just to let you in on a little secret…" She mumbled, pulling the teen closer. "Kev's a slave driver."

"Am not!"

"Sooo are!"

* * *

For those wondering, if you read it, what Kevin was going to ask in my last note in the last chapter, the whole working out proposal was it... It basically came down to me wanting an excuse to... Well, you'll read it when I get it written.

Stay tuned kiddies for the next exciting chapter of Excuse Me While I Kiss This Ed! Chapter 8: Work That Ed! Rumors fly, food is eaten, a possible shower scene unfolds and Double D's secret love is _what_?!

Final Note: Wow... I think I wrote this thing nearly in one whole sitting


	8. Chp 8: Work That Ed

Wow... Yeah, that's probably a good word for it, wow. It's been a long time since I've updated this. I'm amazed people are still asking for updates. Know this, those of you who have been waiting, I haven't forgotten this story at all. I've been working on this chapter for some time now, having had to take many more breaks than I care to think about due to pure, unadulterated writers block and a whole bunch of large changes in my life. This chapter was still sitting in my documents folder, unfinished until I completely scrapped the original idea for the most part and completely rewrote the chapter. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did writing it. It feels good to get back into what I enjoy. Know that the next chapter in around a quarter finished. I won't put a date on when it should be up, but hopefully it doesn't take a year or two this time.

That all being said, please, to those who have patiently (or not so patiently) waited for this story to update, enjoy! And as always, the show Ed, Edd, and Eddy doesn't belong to me, nor do the characters presented in this story. Cartoon Network and some people way smarter and probably more wealthy than me do.

* * *

Chapter 8: Work that Ed

The early morning sun still sat just above the horizon around Peach Creek, its warm orange light making everything glow as if aflame. Even the thin clouds, hanging like tufts of golden down glowed in the slowly easing blue of the warming sky. Heavy frost created a sea of stars amongst the dead winter grass on the finely manicured lawns of the cul-de-sac. Even the trees, long since stripped of their leaves by the ravages of the seasons, glistened with frozen dew.

Ever the naturalist, Edd looked around from his spot on his porch, taking the time to appreciate the beautiful morning while sipping a glass of orange juice as he waited for his trainer to arrive. His lightly glossed lips curved into a content smile before he took in a deep breath. The chilly air smelled wonderfully of soil and foliage, far offset from the harsh fumes of the city.

To keep the cold at bay, the black haired teen opted for a simple set of black sweats and a forest green zip up jacket. They weren't cute or feminine, but if Kevin expected him to run out in this weather, Edd wasn't going to sacrifice his health just to wear something cute; even his trademark hat was back to warm his head. In fact, he looked closer to the way he dressed before the bet wearing the slightly frumpy clothing and his contacts. He wondered…

"Hey Dork, glad to see I didn't have to wake you up." Kevin called as he strolled up to the smaller teen.

Setting the empty glass aside, Edd offered a smile. "I expect to see the same effort put towards your studies later that I am now." The easy-going smile turned a bit more sinister at the mention of the math tutoring Kevin was in for later.

"Don't remind me of that Double Dee…" Kevin almost whined as he thrust his hands into his grey hoodie's front pocket. Silence passed over them for a moment as the jock examined the bookish young man still sitting. For sure, he most certainly was back to his older style of dressing. While it did make him look more boyish, the redhead found himself not quite put off like he expected. Instead, the feminine face seemed to stand out all the more in the male clothing. Maybe it was coordinated, or maybe Edd just had that skill of something looking good without trying hard. "Rockin' the older stuff huh?"

"Yes, well, it is rather chilly." Confirmed Edd as he stood up. Smirking, he looked himself over. "Has the illusion of femininity fallen from me? Do I once more resemble the hat-wearing bookworm of yore?" Raising his hands, he did a small spin, offering an easy grin.

Raising a slim brow, Kevin smirked a bit. Expectant blue eyes watched from just behind a thin curtain of black bangs. Was he daring him to say something? I mean look at that smirk! Deciding to play along with this assumed game, the larger teen shrugged a bit. "Still cute I guess. I personally prefer the skirts."

Blood rushed into pale cheeks as Edd's smirk faltered under the sudden assault of a compliment. Looking down, his hands raised to tug down the black beanie a bit. "O-Oh… Th-Thanks…" He mumbled lightly before nibbling on his lower lip.

Once more, silence washed over them. The sounds of birds chirping and beginning to wake up prompted Kevin to glance at the watch on his wrist. "Well, enough stalling Double Dork, ready to do this?"

Looking up, Edd frowned a little and sighed. "Not quite… But I will."

"That's the spirit. First, let's get some stretching done. Don't wanna hurt you on the first go, right?" Moving towards the empty driveway, Kevin waved Edd along.

"But of course…" Groaned Double Dee.

After stretching, the two set off on a steady interval of running a walking for only a short mile. More than enough distance if Edd were to be asked. Kevin joked and chatted along the way, being sure to keep the little guy going. Though… He did have to mess with him a little, right?

"C'mon, pick up the pace Double Dee, we gotta get back soon if we want to make it to school on time!" Called Kevin as he purposefully sped up a bit. Behind him, he could hear the heavier breathing of the more out of shape young man. He had to admit, Edd was putting good effort into this. He was proud of the guy!

"Kevin, I hope… This doesn't… Put a damper on… Our friendship…" Gasped Edd as he did his best to keep pace with the football player. "But I think… I'm beginning… To hate you!" He coughed lightly.

Laughing good-naturedly, Kevin slowed his pace a bit, jogging alongside Edd easily. Even in the cool of the morning, the two young men had managed to begin a light sweat. Double Dee more so than his athletic tormentor. "Aw c'mon Dork, you're doin' great! Just a little further!" It was the truth. Like some kind of mirage of an oasis in the Sahara, Edd could see his house not much further off. Its promises of a hot shower and a chair of some sort sang to him like the Sirens to Odysseus.

As they finally arrived – frost be damned – Edd collapsed into the grass, panting heavily after his slight sprint towards the house. His temples and ears pounded with his heartbeat and he could feel beads of sweat running down his body. Despite all that though, the sheer physical exertion felt good somehow. Perhaps that was just his body shutting down. He wasn't sure anymore.

Coming up behind him, Kevin chuckled, panting a bit himself. "Great job man, great job." He stood next to the pale teen that lay in the yard, eyes closed as he tried to bring his breathing back to normal.

"Thanks… Kevin…" Mumbled Edd, opening a single, deep blue eye. "Still… I may hate you."

"As long as it's just a little." Grinning, the faintly winded young man squatted down. "C'mon though, lying down in the frost isn't good, and if you don't move soon, it'll be all the harder to get up. 'Sides, I'm sure you wanna get cleaned up before heading to school, right?"

Both eyes opened, turning to focus on Kevin's slightly stubbled face. "I'm taking the day off."

"Really now?" Reaching down, the redhead assisted in pulling up Edd who whined only slightly. "And what's with this sudden idea to play hooky, huh?"

"Physical exhaustion is a perfectly legitimate reason to not go into school. Falling asleep in class or burdening the nurse with having to take care of me can all be avoided just by resting at home." Explained the long haired boy with a huff.

Raising his hands in surrender, Kevin grinned. "Fine fine, I ain't gonna say anything."

Watching his friend for a moment, Edd nodded a bit. "Good… Now if you'll excuse me, I need to shower. I feel disgusting."

" 'Course," Kevin chuckled a bit. Watching the retreating back a moment, giving gave chase towards the house with an easy stride. "Actually, I got an idea Dork."

Opening the door to his home, Edd glanced over his shoulder before proceeding inside. Kevin took it as an invitation to follow. Once in the home, he shut the door behind him while kicking off his shoes. He looked to Double Dee who watched him from the stairs before proceeding upwards. "You were saying?"

"Oh, yeah," Once more following, Kevin rubbed the back of his neck a bit. "I was thinking we could go grab some food or something somewhere. Once we're done there, maybe start up on that math?"

Edd suddenly stopped before spinning on a heel to turn and face the jock. Pausing in mid step, Kevin raised an eyebrow down to the feminine face. "What?" Mumbled Kevin in confusion.

"And what is _your_ reason for not going to school?" Stepping a bit closer, Edd prodded the muscular chest before him with a chilly finger.

_Could this guy get any cuter? _Kevin found himself thinking. It didn't even feel bad to think so! The guy was seriously freakin' adorable sometimes. Getting huffy and confrontational was definitely one of those times. A grin had worked its way along Kevin lips as he crossed his strong arms over his chest. "Oh, you know… exhaustion and whatever."

With a sigh, Edd turned back towards his room once more, Kevin close behind. Stopping in the doorway, he glanced back. "Well, if your intention really is to take us somewhere to eat, following me into my room won't help."

"Huh?" Kevin raised a brow a bit.

Edd's cheeks grew dark as he looked towards the side. "I have to get cleaned up and changed Kevin. Not something I'm quite comfortable doing amongst company…" He mumbled while tugging off his hat shyly.

"Oh? I figured I could watch just for a minute or two." He chuckled, leaning on the door frame. It was meant to just tease, but Kevin found his own cheeks a bit warmer than he preferred.

Blue eyes flicked up to Kevin, mouth slightly open in surprise. Gulping a bit, Edd bit his lip before brushing a bit of hair over a delicate ear. "Kevin I…" Looking up to the green eyes, the prodigy found himself unable to hold their gaze very long. "Just because I dress… differently… I'm not… I don't know…" Coughing a bit, he seemed to cut his own sentence off before crossing his arms. "Joking or not, I smell bad, you smell bad, and I'm rather hungry." Decisively, he turned and moved further into the room, beginning to close the door. Pausing, he turned a looked at the also blushing teen between the crack still left to close. "Perhaps some other time…" He mumbled with a joking smile. This whole little charade was beginning to wander into uncharted waters…

"Ah, r-right dork! Yeah!" Laughing possibly a bit too much, Kevin stepped back. "Some other time! I'll uh… I'll be back in an hour or so! Be sure you're ready." Looking a bit awkward, the redhead turned and left the house, thrusting his hands into his pockets.

On the other side of the door, Edd released a breath heavily as the front door closed downstairs. Deep inside his core, he felt a strange tingle of… fear? Anticipation? Definitely confusion. Shaking his head a bit, he rubbed his face. All this was just from that run. It made him feel a little lightheaded is all.

_ Though… Still… What if?..._ Strange thoughts began to surface and bubble in the mathematical mind as he headed towards the shower. By the time he was undressed and in the shower, he had deduced he had some studying to do.

Meanwhile, Kevin sat in his room for a moment, his mind running over Edd's words again and again. The little guy was joking, that was totally obvious… But the fact that he said that! What did _that_ mean? _He doesn't know what? _Thought the jock as he began to undress and prepare for a shower. The conversation replayed several times before a light bulb lit up in the redhead's mind. "Ah… I get it." He mumbled out loud, waiting for the water of his shower to warm up. About to step into the shower, Kevin paused. _He doesn't __**know**__?_ Well… That was a little surprising… Though… Maybe not?

Shaking his head, the muscled teen stepped under the hot water, sighing at it soothed his agitated nerves. "Whatever Double Dork, let's just get some breakfast." Mumbled Kevin to no one in particular.

A gentle chime from the doorbell made Kevin start a bit. Snagging a button-up flannel shirt, he made his way to the front door, opening it while managing to get at least one button done up. Edd offered a smile before quickly stepping in, pushing the jock back a step. Closing the door, the shorter of the two shivered a bit. "It's going to be a rather chilly day today." Turning about, he flushed faintly as Kevin did his best to close up the flannel. He had to admit that the small glance of his physique was rather impressive. Abs were not an easy thing to obtain or keep, that much he knew.

"Yeah, well wearing a skirt probably isn't the best idea." Chuckled the broad teen while looking Edd over easily. A pair of long stockings covered his pale legs, they were a natural fiber or some sort, though Kevin couldn't quite put a finger on it.

"Alpaca," Edd laughed uneasily, pressing his legs together.

"Oh, I was just wondering actually…" Kevin chuckled, finishing his shirt. The stockings stopped mid-thigh, showing off just enough flesh to be teasing before the dark grey skirt began. It was almost daring to wear something that short.

"They keep a bit of the chill at bay." Double Dee followed up before brushing some of his hair from his face. He looked up to Kevin who nodded before kneeling to snag a pair of boots from the doorway. "You know, I didn't realize how hungry I actually was until I got to your door."

Chuckling, Kevin nodded. "Running'll do that." Slipping on the rugged winter boots, Kevin stood, now even a little taller than his black haired friend than before. "Ready, Dork?"

"Yes, Coach." Double Dee nodded, giggling a bit.

The ride was quiet, broken only by the early morning radio; neither seemed to mind as they relaxed for the ride further out, away from the city. Blue eyes looked amongst the dwindling houses and shops that passed before they got to the sprawling farms. Edd wasn't sure where they were going, but it didn't really matter to him. They had a whole day to themselves. It felt rather nice to think about actually. No worries about class or homework for a day. A bit of a reprieve for the day to day things they endured.

Seeing a small herd of cows standing about in the pastures, the studious teen turned to look at Kevin. His attention was on the road, eyes half-lidded in relaxation in his slightly reclined position. He looked quite at ease.

"Kevin?" Edd's voice seemed much louder than he intended it to be. Seemingly not bothered by the sudden voice, the driver smirked a bit.

"Yeah?"

"You're from the city… Do you miss it?"

Glancing over to Edd a moment, Kevin looked back to the road, thinking a bit. It was still only about six in the morning. Very few cars were out, most people being at work or school. He offered a small shrug, one hand on the steering wheel while the other drummed on the knob of the stick shift. "Mm… Never really thought about it… Guess not." Smiling, he looked to the inky black haired teen who smiled back. "I've learned to appreciate how quiet the suburbs are, y'know? Back in the city, there was always noise, light, and people. After living out here for so long though… I can really appreciate how calm it is."

"Careful now, you're beginning to sound like my grandfather." Giggled the slim teen before sighing easily.

A few minutes of silence washed over them once more before Kevin looked to Edd once more. "Why?"

"Hm?"

"Why did you ask?"

"Oh, no reason really." Double Dee assured. "You've just changed a bit over the past couple of years." The two looked to each other a moment. "For the better of course." He added with a smirk. "Though… I probably would have changed a few things."

Raising a brow, the jock smirked. "Oh, would you now? Like what?"

"A proper shave would be one." Humor wound around the snip as the two looked to each other challengingly.

"Just because I can grow a beard and you can't isn't any reason to be jealous. 'Sides, makes me look rugged."

"Is that so?" Asked Edd with a laugh. "Is that what women look for now? Ruggedity?"

"Straight A's in English and that's the word you use?"

"Shall we really bring grades into this too, Kevin?" Huffed the feminine boy softly.

"I dunno, Dork. Are you ready to explain your choice of lip gloss?" Grinning, Kevin flicked his gaze to the stunned face of the younger teen.

"What about it?" The sheer shock in the question caused Kevin to snort in barely contained humor.

They finally arrived at a small roadside café nearly half an hour from their homes. Not a place Edd had ever been to or would have considered. It didn't look to be in the best upkeep, but it did promise the best biscuits and gravy around on a large, sun-bleached sign out front.

"This seems… charming…" The slim boy mumbled aloud as they climbed out of the car.

"It's got some of the best breakfast that I know of." Kevin claimed as they made their way inside. Within, it was a simple, older style diner with aging vinyl-covered booths and a partially functioning jukebox. Several older men, possibly truckers of some sort sat at the bar enjoying a subdued chat over empty plates and steaming mugs of coffee.

"How did you find this place?" Edd asked curiously as the slid into their booth. The chill of its surface against his partially exposed thighs sent a shiver along his spine. He bit his lip a little until he settled, looking to his friend curiously. "So?"

"Sorry, I was busy trying not to laugh." Kevin teased before leaning back casually. "Nazz and I stopped here some time ago when we decided to take a long drive."

"Where to?"

"Nowhere in particular really. We just wanted to leave for a little and enjoy wandering around. It's a pretty good feeling actually, just driving." He seemed to relax just thinking about being out on the road, going wherever it led.

Nodding, Double Dee smiled, looking out the large, open windows. "Sounds quite liberating…" Looking to Kevin, a green eye shot him a wink, causing him to laugh happily.

After their orders were taken – a stack of pancakes, a few strips of bacon, and a couple scrambled eggs for Kevin and a bowl of fruit with a few wholegrain pancakes for Edd – the two simply looked out the windows, admiring the open, seemingly empty countryside.

"Hey, Double Dee…" Began Kevin, leaning onto the table a bit. Seeing the blue eyes focus on him, Kevin put on an apologetic smile. "I didn't mean to bother you back at your place… I was just messin'…"

Edd's chin resting atop his folded hands, leveling a curious gaze at Kevin. "Don't worry, I know." He mumbled in a soft coo. "It brings up an interesting subject though…" He watched Kevin's interest rise and decided to continue. "I'm know I'm naïve in some aspects of things… But I'm not completely stupid. I know what people assume about those… like myself…" Moist azure orbs flicked to the men at the bar a moment. "It's something I haven't really considered much. I never really have participated much in relationships. I'd say the vast majority of my experience would be from the Kankers." They both visibly winced at the very name. "I can't say I'm certain about much. There are things I can appreciate in anyone, but where, if anywhere, my tastes particularly lie… I can't say for certain, since I have never experienced either first hand."

The redhead watched evenly for a few moments after the small speech, nodded a bit. "I understand… What about… Y'know, just _looking_ at people? Can you say one thing seems better than the other?"

"… I can't…" Blushing a bit, the blue eyes look to the table. "A properly in-shape body on anyone is attractive. Being able to see the way the body flexes and moves is very interesting… Nazz was… Once a crush of mine you might say too." Looking up, Kevin smirked a bit, silently giving a 'no duh' look. "So, you might say physical appearance is a bit of a draw."

"But…?" Kevin prodded.

Blood rushed into the pale teen's cheeks, causing him to look down at the table once more. "Ah… Th-The actual… M-Mechanics…" His fingertips pressed together purposefully, "of it… I-Is much d-different." Biting his lip, he glanced up meekly. "I'm at a total loss a-as what to think on that subject."

"Mechanics…" Snorting lightly, the stronger teen grinned lopsidedly. "That's one way to put it." About to retort, Edd was interrupted by their meals being served. They thanked the waitress before digging in.

"I suppose some research would be in order if I were to want to make an educated guess." Edd mumbled after a few bites of his pancake.

_Research huh?_ Sipping a bit of his soda, Kevin watched Edd for a moment, seeing if there was going to be any elaboration on his words. Seeing none, he shrugged a little. "Just be careful man."

"Thanks, Kevin…" Mumbled Edd into his glass of orange juice, his smile just barely reaching over its rim.

The ride back was rather quiet, dotted with a bit of conversation here and there about the possible happenings going on back in school. Edd seemed a little bogged down with his own thoughts that Kevin had seemed to have stirred up. He felt a little bad about it, but it did seem to be a sort of elephant in the room at times.

He glanced over to the slightly brooding teen a few times. He felt the need to lighten the mood a bit.

"So… Were you going to change when we get back?" Seeing the curious look, he did his best to hold back a smirk. It didn't work so well. "Since that skirt's pretty distracting and all."

"Wh-What?" Edd jumped, turning to Kevin with a flush.

"Hey, no problem if you don't, just don't blame me when I can't focus." His laughter at the incredulous, wide-eyed stare earned him a swat to the arm, though Edd himself couldn't keep the small smile from finding its way to his soft lips.

"Flattery won't make me go any easier on you, you know."

"Damn… And here I was hopin'." Kevin sighed overly dramatically, drawing a stifled giggle from his passenger as they continued on down the road towards the morning sun.

* * *

Hope that was worth the painfully long wait. Still haven't dig into the rich soil of what could be possibly a relationship between these two, but it's coming along, I promise. Tell me what you all think!


	9. Chp 9: Study Your Ed Off

After much waiting and annoyed reviews, I've finally finished the chapter I've been sitting on for some time. I wasn't intentional, it's just inspiration is pretty fleeting for me anymore with the crazy stuff I have to deal with. I promise I have never forgotten about this story, just... procrastinated a bit here and there. Rest assured there will be more to come sooner or later.

Keep in mind this is still a little rough. I have yet to sit down and really read through this for editing purposes, but I'd prefer to get it out to you all sooner rather than any later. Hope you all like the newest installment, I believe our boys have made some progress in this chapter. Things will be getting heavier and heavier from here on out!

**UPDATE: **Just had to fix a couple things I noticed after a quite read-through.

* * *

Chapter 9: Study Your Ed Off

Tick…

Tock…

Tick…

Tock…

The small, classic-style alarm clock next to Eddward 'Double Dee''s bed sat like a metronome, clanging loudly in the silence of the room while Kevin's pencil scribbled hastily along row after row of problems. While he worked away at the architect's drawing table, behind him, Edd sat comfortably upon the soft, cushioned bed in his room, book in hand. Next to him were a few math text books, some easier, and some harder than what Kevin was use to.

"One minute," The words were softly, evenly spoken with just a hint of a humored lilt from the brainiac in women's clothing in the room. Kevin shot him a slight glare over his shoulder before returning to his work. Just a few questions left!

Tick…

Tock…

He heard the small body slide off the bed, bare feet tapping the ground lightly before padding near silently across the room. The smell of a light, apple-scented perfume washed over him before Edd was even close. It was like someone had wafted a warm apple pie under his nose…

"Thirty seconds," Uttered that horribly soft voice just out of his field of vision. If he wasn't such a good friend, Kevin probably would have thrown something at him. Damn, Edd would make one awesome teacher. Even with his smooth, light tone, he could feel the pressure to finish weighing down on him more and more. He could feel the eyes looking over his shoulder.

"Five…" The feet turned and padded back to the bed. "Four… Three… Two…" A soft rustle of fabric must've meant that Edd had once more taken up a spot on the bed. "One… Time's up." He giggled softly. "Let me see what you've got." Called the slim teen lightly.

Standing like a prisoner going to the chair, Kevin turned and walked towards the collected-looking teen. What he could probably do in physically tormenting this guy with exercise and stuff, Edd could double that when toying with your mind it seemed.

Smooth legs crossed over each other, the already short skirt riding up just a couple of inches more as he examined his answers. Did he _practice_ this or something? The whole leaning back on one hand, legs crossed and hair just messy enough to be called cute… It was like something out of some teen's wet dream! That is… If it was a woman of course…

Kevin did his best to gauge his work through Edd's face, but it stayed annoyingly even. He could still hear that damn clock in the completely silent room.

Tick…

Tock…

"Not bad Kevin…" Edd began, "But there are many simple mistakes in your work. A sign flipped, a number miscounted…" Looking up, he offered a smile. "Not 'A' material, but you're improving from the first worksheet."

Sighing, Kevin dropped to the bed, flopping onto his back immediately. "I'm wiped, Dork… Let's take a break."

Offering his own sigh, Edd acquiesced and stood. "Very well, would you care for a drink?"

"Whatever you're having," A large yawn escaped his lips before he stretched out a bit. "Thanks,"

"Think of it as a reward for working so hard. It's not often you get to be waited on by me." Hummed the slim teen with a smirk.

"Yeah yeah…" Kevin waved it off a bit before another yawn escaped him.

Tick…

Tock…

Warm winter light washed over him as a passing cloud outside lifted away from the bright rays of sunlight. He grinned a bit to himself. _Double Dweeb __**would**__ put his bed right in the sunlight_. Even in the warm house, the slight chill of winter was present. As the sun enveloped him like a blanket, the football player sighed lightly. The whole room smelled of lingering perfumes and lotions, maybe a bit of whatever body wash the guy used. Turning his head slightly, Kevin took in the scent of the thick comforter below him. It had that apple cinnamon scent Edd had about him.

Shifting a bit, the young man felt his eyes growing heavier in the radiant warmth. He could faintly hear his friend coming back upstairs. Maybe he should sit up… That would probably be the better thing to do, but damn… It was too comfortable on the bed to consider that much. Instead, he opted to shift a bit more onto the bed, claiming it as a proper napping spot.

Entering into his room once more, Eddward raised an eyebrow at seeing his guest sprawled out in a heap on his bed. Soft, short breaths escaped the large chest as Kevin soaked in the sun in his red flannel shirt and jeans. "Honestly… Falling asleep?" The cross dresser sighed softly, setting the glass of cranberry juice on the nearby nightstand.

Moving closer, Double Dee sat on his bed, looking down at the scruffy redhead. For a moment, he considered waking him up to study some more… However… Looking to his clock, they had been at it for a couple of hours already. Maybe a break was in order… He scooted a little closer, gently biting at his lip. Would Kevin get mad if he were to lie down too? It was _his_ bed after all and he wasn't about to sleep on the floor. He didn't seem all that mad last time either…

Listening to the soft breaths, Double Dee smiled while watching the strong-jawed young man snooze lightly. Though he may had mentioned earlier that morning that he wasn't exactly clear on his own standings in preference, he was distinctly aware that he found the burley guy next to him more than a little attractive, physically speaking. Ever so carefully, he allowed the back of his soft-skinned hand to brush the deep-red scruff on Kevin's cheek, enjoying its rough feeling. He was well-built, worthy of his title of 'football player', toned too. Allowing himself to be a little selfish, he let his slim digits brush over the solid, muscular shoulder closest to him, followed the powerful arm. Edd was well aware he was probably overstepping an unspoken boundary, but he was rather enjoying himself, and was carelessly throwing caution to the wind.

As he inspected the teen before him, Edd's eyes wandered of their own accord. His curious mind began to do a bit of its own meandering as well. Kevin didn't seem repelled by his admission of curiosity when it came to the deeper levels of relationships and had even mentioned that Edd's legs distracted him. Even jokingly, that had to mean _something_ right?

Edd bit his lip a little harder; did Kevin truthfully find him physically attractive?

Feeling his cheeks heat up, Double Dee lets his hand drop to the blankets below them. Perhaps he was thinking too much about this right now… Too much about Kevin specifically. Honestly, he was thankful just to have a friendship with the slightly older teen. When they were younger, they would chat together from time to time when Edd wasn't caught up in one of Eddy's plans and it was quite enjoyable. They weren't good friends at the time, but could talk easily with one another. Now, their acquaintanceship had been cultivated into a true friendship, and it was one Edd wouldn't give up easily.

Caught up in his sudden feelings of appreciation and closeness towards Kevin, Edd laid down facing the redhead, pressing closer than he might have in a slightly less cheerful state of mind, even going so far as to possessively wrap his arms around the young man. The motion and touches didn't go unnoticed by the second party in the bed. Green eyes cracked open just as Edd's face nuzzled into Kevin's chest with a small sigh.

"Guess study time's over for now?" Came the low whisper, turning Kevin's normally deep pitch into a low growl. The slim body jumped against him before worried blue eyes snapped up to meet Kevin's own eyes. Seeing the apology from a mile away, the redhead grinned easily, letting his heavy arm drop over Double Dee's side. "No big," He shrugged as best he could, watching the cheeks slowly darken before Edd buried his face shyly.

So, Edd lay there, not quite so tired anymore, but stewing in what he could almost call a miasma of embarrassment. He hadn't really thought about what he was doing or what he would do if Kevin had decided to wake up as he just had. The heavy arm around him tightened its hold a bit as Kevin adjusted himself a little to gain a hair more comfort. Was Kevin just being nice? Was he angry and simply amusing Edd? He couldn't just lie there quietly…

"Kevin…" The inky haired teen's voice barely registered to the larger of the two, making him glance down at the sea of ebony just below his chin. Edd blushed at the soft, questioning grunt that rumbled through the muscular chest he rested his face against.

Leaning back, Edd looked up, right into the deep green eyes before him. "Would you like me to… move? I'm sure I'm once more crossing lines that young men normally don't and as you're a more normal person than myself I don't wish to cause you any annoyance with things such as thing. I just was feeling at little sentimental I suppose and acted without thinking. I would further understand if you wish to simply leave since this is a rather awkward situation if one w-were to consi-" He was cut off by the hand on his back dropping gently into his thick hair.

"Dork… You're ramblin'…" Kevin laughed easily. He could see the beginnings of tears forming in the corners of the protégé's eyes. He offered a comforting grin with another shrug. "I really don't mind man… Yeah, it's a little out of the ordinary for me and stuff." Apparently at some point, his fingers had begun to massage the scalp they rested on by running through the dark locks, he stared at them a moment before laughing a bit louder. "Alright, really out of the ordinary… But it's cool y'know?" Looking back down to the cute face so close to him, Edd's head had lulled back into a spot against his chest once more, enjoying the petting he was receiving. Seeing that content, pleasure-filled look on the soft features shut him up immediately. Somewhere in his mind, he decided he liked that look and that presently, words were completely unnecessary. Somewhere _deeper_ in his mind, he decided he _really_ liked that look and that this guy… This cross-dressing, nerdy-as-all-hell, genius, _guy_ – as in a not-female – was really… delicious looking… with that look on his face…

Kevin gulped heavily, almost snatching his hand from the ensnaring sea of hair, instead slowly drawing it out as to not hurt his friend. This little guy messed with him in ways he really didn't expect…

"Hn… Kevin…" Whined the slim body pressed into him, tone gently urgent with want.

Deep in his core, he felt something like a… a twitch… _That_ tone coming from _this_ guy was way nicer than any voice he had ever heard before in his life. Without even thinking about it, the arm that lay just above Double Dee's head rose up to allow its fingers purchase within the black tresses once more. Apparently the other arm didn't want to slack off and drew the feminine body to him almost greedily. Were anyone to question the jock, he wouldn't say he was in total control of himself at the present moment in time.

He felt small hands clutch at his back as he slid his strong hand carefully through the locks, gentle mewls of enjoyment issuing forth from the throat of the teen pressed as close as he possibly could. The redhead noted how nice the guy felt pressed against him… However foreign that thought may have been. It wasn't nearly as obtrusive as it was last time he found himself in a bed with him. He smelled good too… Really good… Like a warm apple pie just waiting for someone to come devour it…

Teeth clenched a bit as Kevin's eyes slowly closed. He had many girlfriends before, he knew exactly what a situation such as this normally lead to. Things between the two of them had quickly jumped to what he would definitely call 'intimate' within the span of a few minutes. Sure, he didn't really _expect_ things to escalate beyond what they were now, not with this guy, not with him and _any _guy for that matter… But he wouldn't deny that he was enjoying this moment.

A small giggle trickled into his consciousness from beside him. Green eyes opened once more before focusing down on a pair of large, clear eyes looking up at him, filled with humor. "W-What?" Stuttered the jock, a little surprised how lost he was in stroking his friend… What the hell? Stroking his friend? Inwardly he grumbled at his own thoughts.

"While I appreciate what you're doing…" He cheeks darkened a bit as Kevin's eyes widened a little at realization. His other hand had apparently been stroking his back which would have been totally cool and all if it had just stuck to doing that. Unfortunately though, it had dipped under the sweater and shirt covered the slim chest of the teen under his hands to stroke the bare back, apparently the sides too, and was wandering dangerously low if the faintly misplaced skirt was any indication. "I do believe you're allowing your more base urges to guide your hands…"

Slipping his hand from smooth, warm, faintly sweaty skin of Double Dee's back, Kevin did his best to calmly adjust the clothing back into their proper places before gulping a bit. He wanted to say something, anything to smooth out the god awful awkwardness that suddenly intruded upon this awesome time together, but his throat had apparently stopped working while his mouth dried up completely. Instead, he stared in embarrassment and faint shame at the flushed and amused face so close to his.

Edd could see the apology in the dark eyes mere inches from his and gave his own cheeky grin to Kevin. "Remember that beneath these misleading clothes lies a trap of sorts, waiting to be sprung by an unsuspecting ne'er-do-well to throw them into utter confusion." He spoke in a silly, ominous tone.

Embarrassment gave way to humor as Kevin let out a hoarse laugh, before reaching over the genius to grab the near-forgotten juice. After a quick few sips, Kevin took up his previous spot, looking curiously at the awaiting teen. "Waiting huh?" Seeing that Edd wasn't following his leading words, the jock smirked. "You're waiting to be… sprung?'

Slowly, the double entendre of the words dawned on the brilliant mind of the tutor, causing his cheeks to redden instantly. "I'm not-!… I-I mean-!... You're twisting my words Kevin!" Lightly hitting the strong chest, Edd frowned as he became more and more flushed. Seeing the oh-so-cheeky grin being beamed at him, Edd fiercely rolled over, crossing his arms over his chest with a huff.

Kevin let Edd sulk for only a few moments before snatching him up around the waist from behind, pressing into his back. "Come on, dork, I'm just messin' with ya." He chuckled deeply. His words did little to budge the still firmly crossed arms. "Aw c'mon Double Dee!" The stronger of the two squeezed gently, but still earned no reaction from his captured friend. Sighing, he pondered the huffy intellectual in his arms. After only a few moments of consideration, he grinned to himself. Releasing one arm from its spot around the slim waist, he draped it parallel with Edd's side, resting itself in his hair. The firmly tensed body relaxed as finger combed through the messy locks casually. Slowly, the body twisted in Kevin's hold, a pair of blue eyes doing their best to hold a glare which was rapidly failing.

"Consider yourself lucky I'm a forgiving friend." He half-grumbled as he pressed himself back into the young man.

"And that I found one of your weaknesses." Kevin snickered as he held the boy close, letting the sensory overload that was Double Dee wash over him. A light pinch of his side made him laugh lightly before letting his face dip into the warm tresses, resting in their feathery soft comfort. Not that he meant to make a big deal out of it, nor did he consider _what_ he was doing, but as he rested against the head of the young man, he allowed a small kiss to be planted on the crown of the teen's head. Both young men flushed faintly, but were far too caught up in their individual, through similar enjoyments to mention it.

"… You smell good…" Edd mumbled into Kevin's throat sleepily.

"You too, dork…" Murmured the larger teen into the soft hair, slowly drifting off once more into a light, sun-bathed snooze.

* * *

**Author's Notes:** Not much to say here other than sorry once again for the long wait, tell me what you think! More to come!


End file.
